McMahon Mania

Using the potty

2010-08-03T08:12:00.000-04:00

Well we have been back and forth with Austin on this whole potty business. Its so frustrating because he has the whole concept and can do it but just doesn't want to and when a 2 year old doesn't want to do something.... they really don't want to do something. We have gone on 3 hour car trips, took naps, and went to bed for the night, all without accidents but when it comes to going during the day, forget it. Unless I feel like getting a workout and arguing, we ask, and if he says no, we move on.

Well last night, Mason decided he did not want a bottle before bed. I thought that would mean he would be up extremely early because he was hungry but to my surprise he slept until about 5:30. At that time John made him a bottle and I figured he would drink it and go back to sleep. When I went to change him before his bottle I noticed he was completely dry. This was impressive for an 11 month old. So he drank the bottle and after an hour of fighting, I gave in to the reality that I was not getting anymore sleep and headed downstairs for some much needed coffee. At that time I noticed he was still dry. I had been thinking that after all this trouble with Austin, I would love to start getting Mason used to the potty once or twice a day but had not started that yet. I decided to try it that morning. So Mason and I headed to the potty, I put him on and without a hesitation he pooped and peed. I was so surprised because Austin has only accidentally did that once. I was so excited (more for the fact I didn't have to change a dirty diaper). When Austin got up I told he and let him know that Mason would get to go to the store to pick out a present (this is something we have been telling Austin to try to get him to poop on the potty).

I asked Austin if he wanted to go and and he said no so he proceeded with breakfast. After breakfast, I decided to try Mason again since he had a lot of juice. Austin eagerly followed. Once again I put Mason on and he went right away. Austin was very excited so I thought he would want a turn. I asked Austin if he wanted to go and he said "No, good job maymay" and walked away. Well I guess that was that. At least he was proud of his brother even if it gave him no extra motivation.

On another note, Tot school starts August 23rd so there will be lots of new posts, reviews, and giveaways. I am very excited and a little nervous for this year because Mason will be starting and anything with the two boys is always hectic... oh well lots of coffee and deep breaths.

Reflecting Back on the past year: Austin

2010-06-23T22:27:00.000-04:00

I am sitting here tonight thinking about where our life was a year ago. I can not believe how much things have changed in one year and how fast things are going. I wish I could slow it down just a bit or pause it at certain moments. Where do I even begin.

A year ago today we were getting ready for the best vacation we have taken to date. Florida was so much fun last year and it was amazing to spend it with such special friends and family. Austin was just a little peanut at the time. He was still using a pacifier, taking two naps a day and taking a bottle at night. His vocabulary was VERY limited and he had no desire to repeat anything. He was walking but was still a bald little guy. At the time I thought he was such a big boy and now I look back and think he was such a little baby. I was about 8 months pregnant and working at the alternative school. John was doing his long term subbing position and had just found out he would not be hired for the full time position in the fall. Last year at this time, everything was an unknown. We were unsure of how we would handle another baby with Austin being so young. We were unsure of if I would be working or staying home and if I was working how we would manage daycare for two little ones. If I wasn't working how we would manage life on one income. We had no idea where John would be and if he would be teaching or still at the printing place. Everything was so up in the air at this time last year. And now we are here and I look at how amazing everything turned out and how fast it actually went.

Austin went from that bald little one year old that barley talked and would not repeat to a hilarious and outgoing toddler that is never quiet. He is a boys boy and loves everything sports. In the beginning when I was staying home I used to tell John I got lonely because I could not have a conversation with Austin. Now believe me I am not lacking any socialization during the day. Austin never stops talking even if its to himself. This year has been a relatively relaxed one for Austin. We have had no major sicknesses other then the upper respiratory infection. Other then that I think there might have been one or two colds and that is it. I don't think he sits still long enough to catch anything! Last year Austin was still perfecting his walking and now he is full blown walking, running, jumping, hopping, and climbing. Due to his love of sports, he can name whatever sport is on TV or in a picture or if you show him some sort of equipment. He can also name all of the major sports equipments. Yes I have surrendered to the fact that with 2 boys my life is will be taken over by sports and I actually enjoy watching Austin play and learn new skills. In terms of a preference I do not think he has one yet. He loves basketball, hockey, football, and baseball equally. John takes full advantage of his love and has already taught him how to shoot a basketball (thanks to Papa who got him an adjustable net), shoot a ball into a hockey net with a stick, hit a baseball off a T and recently hit a baseball without one (We are very impressed with this new skill.) and is trying to teach him to throw a football one handed. Along with his sports, Austin has recently learned how to roller blade on his new roller blades (again we were totally amazed by this when he wanted us to let go). This last year with the overload in his language, Austin also decided that he was not content calling my mom Grammy like all the other grand kids. No, my little man had to be different so he on his own he decided Grammy was now Mimi. I am glad Austin didn't just go along with the crowd. Hopefully this trait follows him in life! Just about 2 months ago Austin was saying so much and repeating everything but was still using only one word at a time. I was a little concerned and mentioned it to the doctor at his well visit. She said it was fine for now and we would revisit it at his 2 year well visit. Well Austin taught me not to jump the gun and underestimate his ability because literally the next day, he was saying 2 to 3 word phrases. Leave it to a toddler to do things when they are good and ready. And now we are here, only a couple weeks away from my first little baby turning two. I have such mixed emotions because I love the age he is at right now. He has such a funny personality and cracks John and I up just about every second of the day. He is such a good big brother to Mason (most of the time) and each day is showing more and more affection towards him. There are a few biting incidents but those have greatly decreased. Austin watches everything I do with Mason and can repeat most of it. Even when he is eating bread, I catch him tearing off small pieces for Mason. He tries to hold his hand and walk with him although the concept of "slow" has not been understood so Mason quickly crawls away when he sees Austin coming saying "walk Maymay". Austin is going to be quite the daddy when he grows up and daily is taking one of his stuffed animals and putting diapers and powder on it, giving it bottles and pretending to give it baby food. He also wraps it in a blanket and puts it to sleep. Its is very sweet to watch. I cant say enough about Austin (I guess that's because I am his mom). He is such an awesome little boy and aside from the typical toddler stubbornness and my questions of if he has lost all his hearing or is just ignoring me, he is a really good little boy. Some days he eats me out of house and home and other days he is on a hunger strike of some sort and refuses to eat anything but fruit snacks and bread.

Some recent phrases I have had to say to Austin:
"Austin you can not go out of the house in a diaper, fireman hat, and one froggy rain boot."
"No you can not have bread and steak sauce for a snack." (He can now open the fridge)
"No we did not leave Mason at the store, he is home with Daddy."
"No Mimi is not still at the store, that was over a month ago."

Me: Austin what is your name?
Austin: Caillou
Me: No your name is Austin, What is your name?
Austin: Caillou

Situation: Mason, Austin and myself eating lunch at home one afternoon. Mason was given a banana so Austin wanted one too. I was at the sink rinsing some plates off. * note we have not had any visitors to our house recently.
Me: Austin who threw the banana on the floor?
Austin: Riley (his cousin)
Me: Really Austin, Riley is not here. Did you throw the banana on the floor?
Austin: No
Me: Then who did?
Austin: Riley

Some things I would love to bottle up that Austin does or says.... the way he calls strawberry's strawbs, the fact that he is obsessed with John's car and starts screaming "daddy's car" a million times when he sees it, the way he looks at you out of the corner of his eye and then gets a huge smile on his face. The fact that he repeats EVERYTHING you say like a little parrot, the amazing talent he has to remember everything you say, the way he yells go blue when he sees a football or Michigan M. I love his imagination and how he runs around talking to himself because in his little mind he is playing some sort of game. I love that he calls John Da-die. Where he got this from is unknown again. John loves when they watch sports together Austin always has to hold something from that sport like his hockey stick or basketball. I love the way he cheers for himself when he knows he did something good or difficult or the way he grabs his blanket and says "cuddle cuddle" when he wants to be close to you. I love his enthusiasm (or stubbornness but I am trying to be positive) for just about everything. He never gives up even if it means throwing an all out fit to try to get what he wants. There is usually a situation at least once a day that I know I should yell at him for something he did or said but its just to funny and I have to use all my strength to keep from laughing.

Some of Austins current favorite things and dislikes
1. Caillou - ask what he wants to watch and this is what he will say
2. Barney is making a comeback but only the Santa episode - Christmas in July anyone?
3. Hates breakfast and if I am lucky might be able to get him to eat something
4. Papa and Mimi. If you ask Austin if he wants to live there he will say yes and I wouldn't doubt it if he started packing his things.
5. My parents boat. Whenever he sees a boat, its papas.
6. His new power wheel jeep (another present from papa)
7. Swimming
8. Any of his little people play things.
9. Going anywhere. Everyday he asks to go "bye bye"
10. Fruit snacks and fruit - pretty much refuses to eat anything else right now.

And with that my little baby is going to be two. I could go on and on about all the great things he does. We love him so much and as much as he drives me crazy each day, I can't even believe I was away from him his first year. I love spending each day with him and seeing what crazy thing he is going to do or what funny thing he going to say. I am sure this next year will be just as fun and crazy as this year has been.

Updates, Updates and more Updates.

2010-05-19T15:39:00.000-04:00

Wow life has been crazy... well with two little ones I guess thats the norm.

Mason

Mason is growing like a weed and is all over the place. He exceeded his brother and decided to start crawling at 7 months instead of 8 like his big brother. Within days of crawling he conquered the stairs and pulling himself up. He can stand on his own but is very hesitant about walking. He can walk when pushing things around but does not show a desire to do it on his own. I am ok with that, and just trying to adjust to him being all over the place. Austin is not so sure about Mason now being able to follow him wherever he goes. He absolutely loves his "baby" but when it comes to sharing, we have issues. Mason is also starting to talk. He says mama, dada, and bubba. Mason now understands the word "no" and does not like hearing it. He is very dramatic and when told no or upset he will start crying and lay down with his hands in his face. Its very sad but a little over the top at times. He is still very attached to his mama but is becoming very social and as long as he can see me, he loves being held by anyone. Mason is also really enjoying his daddy and whenever John comes home or is around Mason anxiously crawls to him. A few weeks ago Mason went on a teething marathon and cut three teeth all at once. It has been very difficult for him and us. He was not sleeping due to pain. Right now he is cutting his second upper tooth and is a little uncomfortable but it does not want to seem to pop through. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this has caused his all of a sudden 3 a.m. wake up time and hope as soon as that tooth comes through he will be back to 6 a.m.

The sutures in his head turned out to be just fine. I knew when they were taking the first set of x-rays that they were not good. Mason was screaming and the lady was not very comforting to my little baby. When we met with the specialist, they decided to send me right over to Childrens Hospital downtown to get better x-rays so he could see. There they were excellent. Mason didn't make a peep and didn't even move. The x-rays came back perfect and no follow up is needed. We were so thankful but mentally and emotionally exhausted. Mason still has to get his tongue clipped but this mama just doesn't want to put her baby through something else right now. We will schedule it soon but just want him to get over his teething and have a few days pain free.

Austin

Austin is Austin what can I say. He is so funny and sassy and there is never a dull day with him. He loves his brother very much but gets very mad at him. He can be very rough at times and we are trying to work on that. I think once Mason starts walking, Austin will back off a bit. Austin refuses to share toys right now with Mason and its understandable since Mason just wants to ruin what Austin set up. Austin absolutely loves anything Little People and plays with his farm and town center a few times a day. He has a very good imagination for such a little Guy. Austin is still doing Tot School although it is more informal now. We have basically been going out everyday to do something so we dont usually have time to sit and do lessons formally. We have been working on counting and Austin can count to 3 on his own and after that will start randomly saying numbers. At least he understands to say numbers. He has also learned to repeat our mealtime prayer. Austin is a joy and a challenge all at the same time. Just when you get so mad at him he will give you a look or do something that has you cracking up. He now can actually hold a conversation and answer questions about his day. He is such a little person.

Potty training has basically stopped. We ask him and if he says no then we do not push him. Starting June 1st he is back in his underwear and we are going full force. He gets the concept but is just to lazy to stop actually take time to go.

Johns job is going great. He is always busy so we enjoy those nights like tonight when he actually gets him at dinner time. I am loving staying home now. We spend a lot of time going out now that Mason is older and does not require as much.

Here is a link to the boys recent photo shoot. They turned out so good and we love everyone.

http://www.facebook.com/l/06626;www.mirzaphotography.com/blog/

So many new things

2010-02-18T08:30:00.000-05:00

The boys are doing so many new things its hard to keep up.

Lets start with Mason.

Mason is now sitting up on his own. He likes to sit on the floor and play with his toys. He slept on his stomach for the first time last night which was exciting and nervous all at once. I was happy he was able to sleep and he actually slept much better. Mason also started walking in his walker. I am so happy he is starting to be able to get himself where he wants to go. He is also showing signs of wanting to crawl. He pushes up and is starting to push himself backwards. He is not a fan of baby food at all. He would much rather nurse or have a bottle. I can't believe he is almost 6 months. In 3 months, if he follows in Austin's footsteps, he will be walking! I am honestly treasuring every cuddly second I have with him because I can see from Austin how time flies and when they reach toddlerhood, they just don't have time to cuddle.

Now for Austin

Austin is speaking up a storm lately His words are becoming more clearer. He has started counting which is very exciting. I will say 1 and he will say two, I will say 3 and he will say four. Its good to know something is sinking in that head of his. He has started to express what he wants on his own. He will sign and say eat when he is hungry and ask for juice when he is thirsty. This is awesome because it takes away a lot of frustration for all of us. Austin has truly changed from a baby to a toddler. He has been doing great with the potty although he doesn't go, he asks to sit on it. This is something we are not pushing so we take his lead. Another milestone for me more so then for Austin is the fact that I don't have to cut up most of his food anymore. It was such a weird moment when I could hand him a bowl of grapes uncut and he was fine. I am somewhat sad to be loosing my baby but love the little man he is becoming. Austin is also doing awesome at praying at every meal and at bedtime. He even prayer checked me tonight. I sat down with my plate and picked up my fork. He looked at me with a very serious look and clapped his hands together as in a way to tell me I have to pray before I eat.

Quick update

2010-02-12T10:33:00.000-05:00

Mason is supposed to have surgery on Friday of next week but because the insurance wants to make sure its necessary they are making the doctor write a letter to prove this. They basically want me to let him starve and lose weight before they will cover it which of course I will not do. Hopefully the letter from the doctor will work. Because of all this, they said it will probably have to get pushed back. Hopefully it all works out.

Our Tot School blog has changed. Here is the new link http://adventuresintotschool.blogspot.com/

ENT and more

2010-02-03T22:53:00.000-05:00

Today Mason had his ENT appointment to assess his tongue tie. Mason's pediatrician wanted to wait until he was 18 months and speaking before anything was done, but after talking, John and I decided we didn't want to wait until there was a problem that needed to be fixed and put an 18 month old through the stress of getting it fixed so we decided to see the specialist now and get his opinion on the matter. He was very nice and said that Mason had a moderate tongue tie but agreed it should be taken care of now instead of later when the recovery time jumps from a couple of days to a week for older children. Unfortunaly this procedure has to be done as an out patient surgery so on February 17th, Mason have this taken care of. I am already stressed and a wreck but I know we will get through it.

Mason is growing and changing every day. He is eating baby food for dinner and already has preferences. Like a true brother, Mason has joined forces with Austin and hates peas. He does love carrots though. Mason is also not a fan of pears at all. Mason is also almost sitting on his own. He would already have it if he wasn't so grabby and always trying to get stuff out of his reach. He is rolling over non stop and has recently discovered his feet. Mason loves his big brother and lights up and screams whenever Austin decides to give him some attention.

Mason has proven to be VERY attached to his mommy. He has demonstrated this on several occasions of screaming when left with other people while I go out. Hopefully this is a phase that does not last because i am starting to feel a little trapped and do not enjoy when i do get a chance to get out because I am worried about him the whole time. I don't know if I posted this last time but we have conquered the bottle issue and he now takes it whenever we give it to him although he still prefers to nurse.

Austin has become quite the little parrot, repeating whatever he hears. He has now given up his pacifiers and we have not had much of an issue with that. He asked and we tell him they went bye bye and he is a big boy now and usually thats the end of it.

Austin is working on jumping now and is getting pretty good. Its very cute to watch him jump and only lift up one leg. He is always so proud and claps after he performs.

Austin has been practicing going on the potty much more these days. He has even went a few times. Hopefully in the next few months as Mason gets better at entertaining himself, I can focus on this with Austin. For now we are letting him just get used to the idea.

Austin has been doing really well in Tot School. His 1 year old patience is something that we have to work on but he loves it and it always very proud of what he makes or does. Everyday Austin is constantly entertaining us. There is never a day that goes by that he doesn't do something to make us laugh.

Here are some random pictures of the boys

Austin learned to climb in Masons walker himself.

Austin has no fear which has resulted in a lot of boo boos in our house. The funny thing is Austin hates having band aids on and usually cries harder about that then the actual injury.

Austin loves playing in his closet.

Just being silly!

This is what happens when Mommy had to give baths while dealing with Mason (which I do not do, thats John's job)

Austin was so tired he fell asleep on his little brother.

I almost forgot how messy it can be when they first start eating!

Laughing at mommy.

One of his favorite things is to look in his toy bucket and take all the toys out.

My angel baby playing with his newly discovered feet

Love the feet

sitting his own

rolling over. He is a pro at it now.

Passed out in our bed.

Austin now

And Austin a year ago

Our poor Blog....

2010-01-10T22:19:00.002-05:00

Oh Blog how we have neglected you! So having two babies, a husband that works two very demanding jobs and just everyday crazy life to deal with doesn't leave much time for blogging. I have every intent to always post but unfortunately the blog has taken a back seat to Facebook. I will make it a goal to blog more updates from now on. With that being said, like I don't have enough going with an 18 month old and 4 month old, I am taking on Tot school and starting another blog where you can follow our attempt at that. I hope to post weekly on that.http://totschooltales.blogspot.com/

Ok now for the updates!

Austin

Austin has to be one of the funniest kids around. He has already developed a little sarcastic sense of humor and goes out of his way to get us to laugh at him. Of course like most toddlers, when he is asked to perform all of these funny things that he does on a daily basis, he clams up and does nothing, but believe me, he is honestly one of the funniest kids around, with a personality that is far bigger then his tiny little body.

One of his favorite "shows" to put on for John and I are dancing to his favorite song "Single Ladies" by Beyonce (not the most christian song I know, but totally worth it when he has John and I cracking up watching him dance). Put this song on and the kid goes crazy. He cant help put dance and march around. He hears music and starts dancing away. He has a very unique style of dance (guessing he gets this from daddy) with moves that typically include marching very dramatically, a nice little move I like to call his "sumo wrestler" (I am sure you can imagine this one) and recently head banging and waving his hands in the air. Tonight he was mastering his twirl but still has some work on that one. Austin recently visited the doctor due to being very sick. He now weights 24 lbs and continues to grow like a weed. He had a horrible cold and a slight ear infection, which he was put on antibiotics and starting feeling better within a few days. He is now just getting over his cold. Austin is repeating EVERYTHING now. Just yesterday he repeated his whole alphabet after John. His pronunciation is not the best but I am sure that will come. He still has his own language when taking to you or on the phone. Words that he says on his own are: Ball (more about this later), water (wawa), Mason (maymay), bat, snack, go, bye, hi, ride, down, up, cookie, milk, juice, shoe, boot, bear, baby, no (nana), papa,Kacie. I am sure there are more but these are the ones that I know he says without being told to. Everything else he will say if he is asked to identify something. Austin also can identify all parts of his body when asked. He can do it on himself and other people. He especially likes to show off his tongue. Austin can tell you the sounds of some animals also. He knows duck, cow, dog, frog, pig, and lion. The other day Austin also said his first sentence. He told me "Dada at work".

Austin's current favorite activities are putting on peoples shoes. He loves to walk around in daddy's shoes, telling me the whole time that they are Dada's. He LOVES LOVES LOVES to stand at the counter on a kitchen chair and play with his play food, bowls and water. Wawa is his favorite and many tantrums are when he his told no. He likes to pour it back and forth. Lets just say, my floor around that around that area is washed everyday thanks to Austin. He still loves Barney and Yo Gabba Gabba but has added Sesame Street to his TV list. Austin is truly obsessed with brushing his teeth. He knows the sign for brush and whenever anyone is even close to the bathroom, he is right there signing and saying brush over and over again until you let him. This happens about 10 times a day. He has gotten better and will put the tooth brush away without a tantrum. Austin is completely in his toddler bed now and has been for awhile. He is awesome about not getting out of his bed at all, not that we would mind if he wanted to hang out in his room and play a little in the morning. I often wake up to hearing Austin sitting him bed singing. He still loves his bear and anything else he can treat like a baby. After a brief separation for about a week, he had a wonderful reunion with his teddy and was so excited to see him. Teddy now gets the honor of being dressed up in Masons Michigan snow suite everyday. Some random things about Austin: He is now 7:30 because he was a monster every morning. He takes one nap a day most of the time unless I can tell he needs a morning one. He usually goes down about 12:30-1 for anywhere from 1 1/2 hours to 3. He is my little dare devil and climbs on everything. He can get on all the kitchen chairs and living room furniture himself. He likes to sit on his little table and look out the window. He now favorite thing is to stand on John or my back and balance himself. All in all Austin is a great kid. He goes with the flow and has the normal toddler meltdowns. He is very smart and organized in his own way. He likes things a specific way and does not like if you change them. He often will rearrange things at my moms house if he does not like were she puts things. Everyday is a new adventure with in that is filled with frustration and laughter.

Mason

Mason has been a challenge, but we are working through it. He truly is a happy baby that just likes to be center of attention. After months of trying to get him to take a bottle, we are happy to report that he is taking one without much a problem. He doesn't get one often but when he does, he takes it without a fight. He hasn't been sleeping as much as he needs to during the day, mostly thanks to his noisy big brother, so he has been fussier then I would like. He is my little chunky monkey baby. He is already starting to outgrow 3-6 month clothing and with lots of room, fits into 6 month or 6-9 months. At his 4 month visit he was 14 lbs which is right on track, he just has more meat on his bones the Austin did at this age. We did find out he has a tongue tie which explains a lot. We have an appointment with the ENT on Feb. 2nd to find out what can and should be done. Mason is also a very active baby. He already wants to go go go. When he is sitting on your lap, he will propel himself off so you have to hold on tight. He loves to stand and if he is laid down on the floor, he can move himself all over just by rolling back and forth. He is working on sitting up and is almost there. He even tries to sit up by himself when laid down. Again he is afraid to miss anything that might happen. Staying true to my little men, he is already teething. I say this is a very broad sense, because Austin also started at 3 months but didn't cut teeth until 6. Mason is drooling up a storm and chomping away on everything and anything. He has started baby food off and on, but gets gassy from it so we are making this a much slower process then with Austin who was on stage 3 food by 6 months. Sleeping at night has been for the most part good, other then for the past week or so. He goes to bed by 8 and would get up to eat at about 4 then back down to about 7 when is brother would wake him. Lately though he has been getting up almost every 2-3 hours. Hopefully he will go back to normal soon, but with me staying home now, its not as bad.

John

John has been working A LOT these days. He is loving his teaching job and putting together a lot of great stuff for the school. The distance is a little difficult because by the time you add traffic, its an hour commute home. Along with teaching he is still working at his other job a couple days a week so needless to say, he is a busy man.

AND THEN THERE IS ME

For the most part I am doing great. Some days I am ready to turn in my mom card and lock myself in a room. I love staying home with Austin and Mason and aside having my daily schedule controlled by a toddler and baby, I wouldn't change it for the world.

Merry Christmas from the McMahons

2009-12-23T13:51:00.003-05:00

Due to some McMahon budget cuts, we decided not to send out very many Christmas cards. We still love you and want to wish you a Very Merry Christmas.

Fall Update and pictures

2009-11-04T22:29:00.008-05:00

Painting pumpkins at Plaster Playhouse

Austins new favorite activity sorting his magnetic letters

Austin and daddy all dressed up as hockey players for the october birthdays

We attended Candy Town at Grace again this year. Austin had so much fun playing all the games. Mason also had a great time sleeping through the whole thing. Thanks to Candy Town I have more candy then I need!!

Austin taking his football when we were trying to take Mason's 2 month pictures. He loves his brother but not enough to share his toys yet.

Mason is starting to stay awake more during the day. For the most part he is a very happy baby. He has also graduated to the big boy bath tub.

Austin in need of a haircut

Mason's 2 month picture

Cheese!!!!

This past Sunday we decided to make a quick trip to the cider mill for some fresh cider and donuts.

First trip to the cider mill

Mason and Mommy

Cheers!!

Austin and Mommy

Baby Genius or Proud Mama!

2009-10-25T21:16:00.002-04:00

These past couple of weeks, Austin has been like a sponge and has been amazing John and I each day with things that he can now do or can identify. He can now identify his hair, mouth/teeth, nose, eyes, hands and toes. He can also identify them on other people when asked. He saying so many words its hard to keep up with him. We are now working on putting more then one word together but I have not heard him do that yet. He absorbs everything John and I tell him and usually can learn it after one try. He can also identify the sun, birds, balloons, clouds, and many animals like cows, pigs, and dogs in pictures and on tv. He has become such a good helper and can follow simple instructions when told to do something. Today he even got to told his bother all by himself (with mommy close by) and he loved it. He is slowly mastering the spoon and fork and can successfully feed himself mashed potatoes and oatmeal. His current favorite show is Barney with Yo Gabba Gabba in a very close second. He has been attempting to finally eat peas and carrots which is a huge accomplishment. Both boys have been getting over their first colds of the year and Austin finally cut his top two eye teeth and is now working on a set of molars.

Mason is also becoming more of a baby and less of a newborn. He has great head control when he is not tired and is spending more time awake during the day. He is not yet sleeping through the night but I have a feeling that has a lot to do with the fact we can not get him to take a bottle so he is not filling his belly enough to sleep longer then 5-6 hrs. We are also still battling some colicky spells. Hopefully he will grow out of these soon.

Busy Busy Month!

2009-10-16T22:50:00.005-04:00

Well October is proving to be a very busy month for us McMahons! We have John's 27th birthday and lots and lots of activities going on. Here are a bunch of updated pictures of the boys.

Austin at his first visit to Chuck E Cheese

Mason using his high chair for the first time.

So sleepy from all the playing and looking around

Austin looking out our bedroom for birds which are his current obsession.

Austin and his favorite book... our Dave Ramsey Financial Peace book

Austin at Jungle Java

Since we teaching Austin the art of sharing, when he wanted a turn in Mason's jumper, we let him. Little did we know he would love it and now spend a few times a day playing in it.

Captain Blanky to the rescue!!!

Austin at Trunk or Treat. This is becoming one of our favorite events to go to during the fall. We love spending time with Dan, Katie and Nate at their church! Austin this year is Brobee from Yo Gabba Gabba, one of his favorite shows.

Nate and Austin

Austin and Mason (Mason was a giraffe)

Today Austin got his very own toddler bed. This is him sound asleep for the first time. We will see how the night goes.

Jungle Java

2009-10-10T21:50:00.002-04:00

On Friday Austin, Mason and I headed to Farmington Hills to go to Jungle Java. I have been searching for fun places to take Austin that are indoors so he can get all his energy out. Jungle Java is a very cool coffee place that has a huge play place for kids and then a smaller toddler section. They have different types of coffee drinks along with snacks and lunch items. We had such a good time even though it was a long drive especially in rain. Austin played in the toddler area although he really wanted to go on the bog play place but because I had Mason I was not able to take him. After playing, Austin and I sat on one of the big comfy couches and had a yummy lunch. Austin had an awesome pretzel grilled cheese sandwich and chocolate mike and I had an avocado turkey sandwich. Austin was a little intimidated by all the kids running around and even though the toddler area was supposed to be 3 or younger, some bigger kids kept wondering in there. Aside from that he did really well playing and even mastered climbing up the play place and going down the slide himself. Everyday he is turning more into a toddler and becoming less of a baby.

We are proud to report that he has not even attempted to hit his little brother in a few weeks. For awhile whenever Austin got angry at us for not letting him do something he would try to hit Austin. Now there is nothing but love between the two boys. Austin is absolutely obsessed with his baby brother. If Mason even makes a peep, Austin drops what he is doing and runs (literally) to see what is wrong. If Mason is crying, Austin will rub is head or try to put his pacifier in his mouth. Austin is so concerned with Mason that one night after Austin went to bed, I went in to check on him. He was in a dead sleep and Mason who was in our room started to cry. Without even opening his eyes, Austin lifted his little and and pointed in Masons direction and in his cute high pitched baby voice said "brother". It was very sweet that even in his sleep, Austin was concerned Mason was crying. Mason also loves Austin and has started smiling when Austin talks to him or comes up to him for a kiss. Hopefully this loving relationship will continue.

Austin has been making some big accomplishments. He can now go down the stairs on his stomach without much of a problem. He loves when one of us is upstairs and one downstair so he can go back and forth. He is currently obsessed with birds and screams birds whenever he sees any. His favorite are geese which we have a lot over here. He loves every night when they fly over making lots of noise. John and him would run out side and he would scream with excitement. Austin is saying so much its hard to keep up with what words he can say. He still will not talk on demand or repeat what you say. We catch what we catch. Some words we have heard him say lately are lunch, bird, brother, chucke (when we went to chuck e cheese), juice, keys, car, and shoe. He can also sign please, more, and eat. He had his 15 month check up and is growing like a weed. He is 32 inches tall already. He screamed the whole time from getting weighed to getting his shots. Luckily Papa came with us since Mason had his appointment also.

Mason is also growing like a weed. At his one month appointment he was 10 lbs and 22 inches tall already. He is a much bigger baby then Austin was at this point. He is already wearing some 3-6 clothes! His recent accomplishments have been getting control over his head, smiling when he is talked to and sitting by himself in his bebe pod seat. We are still working on sleeping and eating. Mason still likes to eat just enough to make himself happy and not fill himself up so he always wants to eat. He is sleeping ok at night. He was sleeping 5-6 hrs but lately it has been 3. I do not mind as long as he goes right back to sleep which he has been doing the past couple of nights. In the beginning he was staying up for over an hour after eating so although he is getting up more, its a huge improvement. Mason has also decided he does not like bottles unless he is starving. We are both still trying to figure each other out but we are getting there. We do know he likes to sleep on his side as Austin did and he loves his pacifier.

Cloth diapering has been going good. We are slowly starting to build up our stash of diapers. We have figured out what we like and what we don't like. I love it and get very excited when I get more diapers in the mail. Right now we have more in Austin's size so I have cloth diapering him lately and its working well. We are adjusting for naps and bedtime but overall I love it and it saves us money.

4 weeks and counting

2009-09-25T09:36:00.004-04:00

Snack time!

I love my little brother

Austin hanging out in Mason's swing

Mac and cheese face

Austin also had to try out the basinet

My new double stroller so we can all go for walks

My little men

Mason with a full belly for once.

Helping mommy give Mason a bath

Today Mason is 4 weeks old. It is so amazing that we have already made it 4 weeks. Looking back I am not sure how I got here or survived this long but luckily each day is getting easier and better. Mason is changing so much. Its hard to believe that two children from the same parents can be so different. I think the biggest misconception that new parents have is that their second is going to be just like their first. That could not be more false. Austin was the poster child for perfect babies. He slept 4-5 hours right away, was sleeping through the night by 2 months, nursed like a champ on schedule and without any fussing, and was very laid back and just went with the flow. Mason on the other hand has proven to be more of a challenge. He is a good baby and we are very lucky but compared to Austin he is a lot more work. Mason seems to be more needy then Austin every was. He likes to be held and the minute you put him down he wakes up and thinks he wants to nurse. I am sure this is a comfort thing but at 3 a.m. its hard to be understanding. Aside from the physical differences of having dark bluish grey eyes and dark brown hair (yes at least one of our children was born with hair!) compared to Austins bright blue eyes and blonde hair (when he finally grew some at a year old), Mason likes to eat all day long. He is a snacker and eats enough to make his belly happy and then wants to go back for more a few minutes later. He is also much bigger then Austin. At 4 weeks old Austin was just growing out of preemie clothes and able to fit into newborn clothes. Mason on the other hand is already done with newborn clothes and fitting nicely into 0-3 month clothes.

Mason is starting to stay awake more, not by his choice but in efforts to make sure he sleeps at night. he is starting to get on more of a routine which is nice. He usually goes down to bed at about 8 (same as Austin) and will sleep his longest stretch until about 2. He will then wake up around 5-5:30. He is still having trouble going back to sleep after his nighttime feedings. John and I both think he has some stomach issues. Gas drops do not seem to be helping much. The good thing is he likes to be held but does not cry. Mason is also smiling and giggling more often. It is very sweet to see your sleeping baby giggling.

Austin is becoming quite the little helper. He loved to go get me things when I ask. He also like to check on his brother whenever he makes any type of noise. He is cutting some more teeth so he has not been feeling very good and sleeping a lot. We have gotten him to start sleeping to about 7 which is way better then 6. All in all we are all adjusting.

Weekend News

2009-09-14T12:50:00.004-04:00

This weekend was a big one for our little McMahon boys... since Austin is now a big brother we decided to upgrade him to a booster seat at the restaurant. He did very well once food was placed in front of him. He loved the fact he was a big boy sitting at the table with mommy and daddy. This was also Mason's first trip to a restaurant... Apple Bee's thanks to our church who gave us a gift card. Mason also had his first trip away from mommy. John decided to give me a much needed break on Friday and took the boys to Aunt Anne's house for a family party. I remember the first time Austin was taken away from me, John brought him to Anne's house to see his parent. I was a nervous wreck. I think in the 2 hours John had Austin I called at least 3 times to check on him. Funny how things are so different this time. I was not worried at all this time around and got to work doing things that I can't when Austin is around. I only called once and this time it was to see what time they would be home.

John was also super husband yesterday and took care of Austin all day so I could get some much needed sleep. I basically slept all day only getting up to feed Mason. It was very needed to get me through another long week of John's meeting and working late at his other job.

Today we are headed for the doctors for both of the boys. Nothing serious. Masons belly button is oozing a little since his cord fell off. The doctor just put some sort of liquid on it to stop that. Austin we think might have an ear infection. He has been putting his finger in his ear a lot and waking up crying numerous times at night. It would be just teething too so we are going to check it out.

Each day at home is getting better and more enjoyable for me. We are all starting to get into a routine. I look forward being able to be home to watch my little men grow.

The Best Big Brother

2009-09-10T22:01:00.002-04:00

Checking on his little brother for the 100th time.

We were all a little nervous to how Austin would handle having a newborn around since he is so young himself but we couldn't ask for a better big brother for Mason. At 14 months Austin has already taken on the protective big brother role. He LOVES Mason so much so he literally checks on him every 5 minutes. The other day I had an appointment and I took Mason with me. Austin was sleeping when I left. My dad said the first thing he did was look for his brother when he got up. When I came home he was very concerned and had to make sure I took Mason out of the car seat and did not take him anywhere again. He understand that Mason is a baby and whenever he talks to Mason he uses his very high sweet voice. He loves to kiss his brother and does this many times throughout the day without being told. He likes to rub his head and hold his hand also. Austin has been very helpful in getting Mason's pacifier, blanket and even diapers when I ask.

Holding his little brother is one of his favorite activities now and he proudly sits on the couch with his brother on his lap. When you take Mason away Austin holds out his hands and asks for more. He likes to "carry" his brother also around the house with the help of mommy. It is very sweet when he puts out his little hands and wraps them around Mason.

There has been some jealousy but not is a bad way. It has actually made me and Austin closer. He was becoming so independent and not having time to sit and cuddle with me any more but now when Mason is sleeping, he will crawl up on the couch and just sit and snuggle. He will even sit next to me if I am feeding Mason and lay his head on my shoulder. I am loving every minute of this and cherish my special time with him.

We continue to praise Austin whenever he interacts with Mason so that he feels part of this change in our lives. He is working on being gentle and tends pull or rub to hard sometimes but we don't yell but redirect his attention. We have only had a few incidents where Austin has hit or tried to hit Mason and that was because he wanted to help and got mad at me. Austin was labeled a pacifier taker at daycare and I can see why now. Its not that he wants Mason's pacifier but he just doesn't want Mason to have it all the time. He likes to put it in Mason's mouth and then take it out again which is frustrating to our new addition.

As for me I am taking longer then I thought to adjust to my new career. Staying home is one adjustment but throw in a very active 14 month old, a newborn, recovering from an operation, lack of sleep, and now no car (John's is currently out of commission for a short while so he has mine) and the frustration tends to build up. I love being with my boys and each day does get a little easier as I start to feel better and adjust to little sleep but now having a car has thrown a loop into process. I am looking forward to getting the baby carrier I ordered so that I can interact and keep up with Austin while still keeping Mason close.

Unexpected Surprises!

2009-08-30T07:43:00.005-04:00

Ok so as most of you know, I was not due with our precious little Mason John until September 14, 2009 but was going to have a planned c-section on 9-9-09. We were all pretty excited about the date and were getting everything ready for the big day. John and I already had babysitters lined up, were in the process of getting our basement cleaned to move most of Austin's toys downstairs since they have overtaken our living room, and were planning on making a trip to the diaper store today to get the last minute diaper supplies that we need. Needless to say all of our plans for the next couple of weeks have come to a hault.

On Friday, I had my regular appointment in the morning, my dad was with Austin at our house. In the office I was having a non-stress test and the babies heart beat was dipping a little. The doctor said that it was probably nothing but she wanted to send me to the hospital to be monitored a little longer instead of having me sit in their office for a few hours. She said they would monitor my progress and then they might give me a stress test, which would consist of giving me some pitocin to start contractions and see how the baby reacted. Since I had been in the hospital so many times with Austin before he was actually born, I really thought nothing of this and was not concerned at all. I didn't even go right to the hospital, I first went home to explain to my dad and pack up a few things so he could take Austin to his house for the afternoon, again expecting to only be at the hospital a few hours max. Since John was at school, it was also very hard for me to get ahold of him. I was again not too concerned because I thought this would be like so many times before where I spent the day there and then they sent me home.

I finally did get ahold of John but told him not to rush home and I would text him updates. I arrived at the hospital around 10 and they hooked my up to the monitors. I relaxed and watched TV while the baby was being monitored. During this time I was telling John not to come home until we knew something for sure. Around 10:30 a.m. they decided to give me pitocin to start some contractions. This concerned me a little bit but never did I think I was going to have the baby that day! At this point we decided John should come home just in case.

I was joking the whole time with the nurse about the pitocin because I was on the highest dose with Austin for 3 days and never even had enough pain to take medicine. I was very skeptical that it would even work. Well boy was I wrong. Within a few minutes I was having strong enough contractions that I was very uncomfortable. During this time I still didn't know what was going on but started to get a little worried when whoever walked in the room would ask when I ate last. Finally after some very strong contractions, they shut the pitocin off and the doctor informed me that my doctor wanted to deliver the baby today. I was so surprised I didn't even know what to think. They ensured me that in terms of the baby's size and everything he was OK to be born at 37 weeks but he might have some breathing trouble being so early and it being a c-section.

So I called John up and told him the news. He was almost to the hospital. We were told the c-section would take place around 3 p.m. We were both so in shock... here we were, thinking we still had a week and a half, nothing packed, nothing prepared and we were going be having a baby in a few hours. At this point it was time to make phone calls and try to get some things together. First order of business a camera! Our camera was of course at home but not only that completely dead. Luckily John's mom was going to bring one. My mom was going to go to our house and get our video camera and a few items for me but most would have to wait until later when John could get there.

As it came closer to 3 we found out that they were extremely busy that day and had many c-sections. Because mine was not an emergency per say, I got bumped which pushed the time back even further. We finally got the time of around 5:30 p.m. we would be having ours. At this point it was safe for John to run home and get enough stuff for us and Austin.

So needless to say it was a very long day at the hospital, and silly me never ate before my doctors appointment at 8:30 that morning so I was starving and was not even allowed ice chips. around 5:45, John got dressed and they took me into the room where I had my spinal block. It was not that bad which I was happy about. I did get really nauseous for a few seconds but they took care of that right away. During the c-section it seemed to take forever for them to get Mason out. At one point I heard my doctor say she needed help. Come to find out, our little Mason had the cord wrapped around his neck 3 times! This is why he was not handling contractions well and would not have made it another week if I was having contractions off and on.

So at 6:17 our precious Mason John McMahon came into this world, weighing 7 lbs 1 oz and measuring 19 1/2 inches long. He did not have any trouble breathing and had a healthy cry right from the beginning. Because it was my second c-section it took a little longer to stitch me up, and then it was off to the recovery room.

When I was wheeled in holding Mason, I was greeted by John and Austin. I was so happy. We were excited to spend time as just a family of four before all the visitors came in. To our amazement, Austin did great. He was a little scared by be and everything looked up but he did want to see his brother. After some family time, everyone came in to see the new addition and finally learn his name which had been kept a secret for the entire pregnancy.

Unfortunately after a few visitors, I got extremely sick and was unable to even open my eyes. I was extremely nauseous and extremely itchy. I had to just lay there with my eyes close. This made me sad because I was not even able to nurse or hold Mason that night. Daddy came to the rescue though and gave Mason his first bottle and was able to give him all the cuddles he needed that night.

After some medicine and a good night sleep (yes I said sleep, our little man slept for almost 5 hours the first night) I was all better and ready to jump into mommy mode. Luckily since this all happened on a Friday, John was able to spend the whole weekend with me at the hospital.

Mason has been doing wonderful. He is slightly jaundice which we went through with Austin so its not as scary this time around. Austin is absolutely loving his little brother and can not be more excited to see him. John brought Austin to the hospital each day for a couple of hours and Austin loved to touch and look at his baby brother. We definitely can say he has not missed being at home with us when he has had Grammy and Papa all to himself.

We were able to leave the hospital on Sunday, which surprised the doctors and nurses that I was doing so well after a repeat c-section. Was was anxious to get home and see Austin. It seemed like he grew up so much while I was in the hospital and I missed being around him. Fortunately we are able to stay with my parents for a couple of weeks while I recover since John has to go right back to work. This has been a huge help since I am unable to drive or lift Austin for at least a week.

There are some definite differences between Austin and Mason that we have noticed right away. Austin had strong McMahon features right from birth, Mason seems to resemble more of me this time. He still looks a lot like John and Austin but its not as noticeable as Austin who is still a mini John. Mason also has very dark almost black hair and well as we all know Austin was bald and is now just working on getting some very blonde hair. Mason is a little more sensitive then Austin was in terms of being picked up and held. Mason also is still working on nursing. He tends to like to nurse for about 5 minutes and then sleep. Austin was a champ right from the beginning. Both boys are wonderful sleepers. Austin was 4 hours right from birth and Mason is following suit at 4-5 hours also. Mason of course is bigger and fits into newborn clothes. Austin was so tiny he was in preemie for about a month.

All in all it has been a wonderful transition. Austin is doing better then expected and each day he is making us laugh at his new and wacky personality. He is very helpful with Mason and already bringing him his pacifier, bottle or whatever else we need. Today he was also helping me burp Mason. We just continue to encourage him to play an active role in the baby and cheer and clap whenever he does something nice. He loves kissing Mason and patting him. I cant wait to see the two grow up and interact with each other as Mason gets bigger.

We are planning on returning home sometime next week as long as some of my pain is gone. We are going to the cloth diapering store tomorrow and I am so excited to start using them. Mason has been in one and it was so cute on him.

Hopefully with 2 baby boys running around I will be able to update more next week.

Adventures in Pre-Potty training

2009-08-17T10:02:00.002-04:00

We have begun to "pre-potty train" Austin this weekend. We are calling it "pre-potty" training because we are just getting Austin used to the idea of sitting on the little potty and having it around. We are not expecting much from him at this point. So far he is doing really well. When we go to change his diaper he let him sit on it for a few minutes. So far he has not gone but we praise him for sitting there without getting up and that puts a big smile on his face. This morning with the help of a cookie and some juice he sat for a long time but has not put the two and two together yet on what is supposed to happen.

Quick Update

2009-08-13T22:25:00.003-04:00

The McMahon family has been very busy the last couple of weeks, preparing for our new arrival, getting ready for new jobs, and keeping up with Austin.

Austin has been quite the little independent guy and is very happy playing by himself and trying out new things. He has been practicing using a fork and spoon, walking backwards, and learning somersaults. He has also been building his vocabulary although he refuses to repeat or talk on demand. He loves to sing and usually in the car can be heard singing his own little song in the back seat. Coloring is still his favorite activity, unfortunately he decided my front door and floor was a good place to use his crayons. He is listening a little better depending on his moods, and time outs have not been as frequent. Bedtime and nap time have been a piece of cake (knock on wood). We have been able to lay him right down in his bed without any protest for getting up, and within a few minutes he falls asleep. He is still taking 2 naps a day which he really needs. Usually and hour in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon, and in bed by 8. This will make having a newborn much easier without having to fight him to go to sleep.

I have been going to the doctor weekly because of my low iron. The baby is looking good and we just had our 4th ultrasound today. He is about 6 lbs. We are happy to report that sometime this week he turned and is no longer breech. We are still going to go ahead with the planned c-section on 9-9-09. It makes it much easier with John's new job and lining up babysitters for Austin while I am in the hospital. I have a feeling my 3 day hospital stay will be like a mini vacation for me. I have been having a lot of contractions this past week so we will see if this baby wants to wait until the 9th to arrive. If he is anything like Austin, he has a mind of his own and only does what he wants when he wants.

John's new job starts on Monday and we are both excited to get all the information and see what he is actually going to be teaching and his schedule. Its going to be an adjustment for both of us but we can't wait for it.

Boating Baby

2009-08-03T13:23:00.007-04:00

Yesterday John, Austin and myself got to spend the entire day on my parents boat. It was a much needed "mini vacation" for John and I. We have had so much going on, good and bad, that we just needed a day to relax.

Austin has been to the boat a lot of times but he has never been "out" on the boat. When we first started moving he was unsure of what was going on and just held on. After awhile he adjusted well and was running around trying to get into everything as usual.

Even though it was a little chilly, that didn't stop our water baby from having fun in the lake. He loved swimming with daddy and trying to splash us on the boat.

All the sun took a toll on our little guy and as soon as Papa started the boat up to head over to Metro Beach for a BBQ, Austin snuggled up with Grammy and fell fast asleep, missing the whole ride over there. He was so tired that we managed to take his life jacket off and lay him down on the couch without him waking up. I would like to say that this all happened once but again after a yummy dinner of steak and pasta salad, Austin again snuggled up to Grammy and fell fast asleep on the way back to the dock.

Adventures in Cloth Diapering and a New Job!

2009-08-01T20:35:00.005-04:00

Today I attended a cloth diapering seminar in Ann Arbor. I learned so much and am even more excited about using them for the new baby and for Austin. This store was heaven with all the different types that you could see and purchase. It was much better then just searching on the Internet without seeing what will work for us. We decided to buy one diaper today to try it out on Austin and to see how we like them. We decided to try the Bum Genius first. It has three different sizes and seemed super absorbent. We put Austin to bed tonight in it so we will see how it holds up through the night. If anything he looked so adorable in it because I had it double stuffed. He was a little confused at first when I put it on but after a minute he was running around and fine with the change.

While I went to the seminar, John took Austin to see the U of M football stadium. Austin has not been there since he was a couple of months old and he slept the whole time then. Austin had fun running around and John got some really cool pictures of Austin with the stadium behind him.

In even better news, we are happy to report that John was offered an incredible teaching job the other day. It is at a brand new school in Detroit. The building is undergoing a renovation and is going to be outfitted with the best technology available. John starts on August 17Th. This is a school that John really wanted to get into which makes the offer even better. Because of the career change this allows me a career change and I will soon be a stay at home mom. I am super excited to be able to stay home and take care of my babies. I feel like I was missing out on so much with Austin and seeing him cry in the mornings when we dropped him off was heart breaking. Austin is going to benefit from me being home so much. He will finally be able to get on a regular schedule since when he is a daycare he doesn't like to nap at all. I am sure it will be a huge adjustment for me and I will have my days that I wish I had a break but I can't wait to be able to spend everyday with my little men.

In pregnancy news, we are going to be scheduling a c-section at my next appointment. Now with John's new job, the date will be tricky because we are supposed to have it the week John will be starting school. We will work it out and I am sure I will have plenty of people around me to help out the first few weeks.

Many new changes are happening for our family and we are excited about each one. New jobs, me staying home, new baby, and who knows what else. We are ready for each challenge and cant wait to see what else is to come.

No More Bottles!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-07-21T11:10:00.003-04:00

I am happy to report that Austin no longer has any bottles. He was down to one bottle at bedtime and I was not sure how to break him of this but Austin, like always, has a mind of his own and decided he was done.

Over vacation we started giving him a snack around 7:30pm / 8:00pm (usually yogurt or fish crackers). Something to fill his belly. Since he was having a snack, he was only drinking a few ounces of his bottle. We also started a better nighttime routine to make bedtime easier. He now has a snack with us, goes upstairs, brushes his teeth, plays in his room while Daddy reads a book, (he will not sit for a book for more than a page or two) and then it is time for bed. Because of my growing belly, it was very hard for me to cuddle and feed him his bottle. This past week he fell asleep on the couch with John and I so we put him to bed. I took this as a opportunity to cut the bottles out of our nighttime routine.

It has been a week now and bedtime couldn't be easier. Austin likes me to stand by his crib for about 5-10 minutes until he closes his eyes but he does not get up and run around his crib or fight me anymore. Same goes for nap time. Around 10:00am (when I am home) I tell Austin it's "na-night" time and he grabs his pacifier and blanket and heads for the stairs. I lay him down and rub his head and back and he talks a little then its off to sleep for usually an hour and a half. We repeat the same at 2:00pm.

I am so happy that he has gotten easier to put to sleep because with a new baby on the way, its going to make it much easier.

In baby news... our little man is still breeched and causing me much discomfort. As of right now it looks like another c-section is going to happen. I am OK with that. At least I know what to expect. As far as being breeched... I never thought it would be this uncomfortable. I knew before I went to the doctor that he was not in the right position because of the pain and trouble breathing. Time is going by fast and we can't wait to meet him!

Austin's Birthday Party and 1 Year Updates

2009-07-13T10:28:00.012-04:00

Austin had his birthday party this past Saturday and it was tons of fun. We had it at my parents' house so we could have lots of room outside. It turned out to be the perfect day, bright and sunny. All the kids had fun running around the backyard and playing in the kiddie pool. Thank you to all the family and friends that came to celebrate our baby's first year.

Austin loved his cakes that his Aunt Jen made. Cookie monster is his favorite and he wasted no time diving into the cake. Austin also got so many nice presents. He was in need of some new toys and clothes for the fall. Mommy and Daddy learned a very good lesson to not bring in all the toys when you get home because Austin wanted to stay up late and play with all of them.

So now we are back to normal life. Vacations and birthdays are over. We are now focusing on getting back on schedule, preparing for the new baby and working out schedules for next year.

Austin has had an amazing year and I look forward to getting to spend more time with him next year.

John and I decided that it would not be in the best interest for him or his little brother to go Little Turtle next year. We love it there but Austin has had a very hard time each morning and it has not gotten any better. It is a stress on all three of us right now each morning we have to take him there. We have decided either I will stay home with both boys full time or John will in the morning and I will in the afternoons. The final schedule has yet to be dermined. Either way, both boys will have stress free mornings with mom or dad.

Austin has really grown up over these last few weeks. John and I really noticed it over vacation. His vocabulary is starting to take shape. To the naked ear, it sounds like baby talk but to a trained mom and dad we can make out several words. He now will say "Kacie" (this is my parents' dog but he thinks every dog is Kacie), "mama", "dada", "more", "snack", "yeah" (we are working on yes but I am sure he hears us say yeah a lot), "bye bye", and "ball". Last night during a time out I think I heard him say "no-no". So we are getting there with the communication.

Austin's walking has been perfected and now he is working on running. He has blossomed into a full blown toddler and I think although only 1 years old, is showing signs of some terrible 2 tendencies. He now can follow simple directs which makes some tasks easier.

His favorite activity right now is coloring and playing golf with his new clubs. Tiger Woods watch out! Daddy has been helping him with his technique.

On the Road Again

2009-07-08T21:44:00.005-04:00

Our official start time on the road was 3:40 a.m. and we arrived home at 12:30 a.m. We can't express enough how proud of Austin we are for how wonderful he was during this whole vacation but especially the trip home. Our little angel let us drive straight through without making many stops. Austin slept most of the morning and afternoon. We briefly stopped for lunch and dinner and maybe once or twice more for a few minutes but other than that we drove most of the time. He really didn't complain much and didn't need to be entertained as much as he did on the way down there. We were very thankful not to have to stop overnight because we were anxious to get home and sleep in our own beds plus it was saving a lot of money by not getting a hotel. There are not many pictures from the way home because we were concentrating on driving. I did manage to take a couple of pictures of Austin before we left the condo in the morning. He decided the last night that he didn't want to sleep in his bed so he slept with us. He looks so tiny in a big king size bed.

Overall our trip was absolutely wonderful. I was a little concerned going on such a big vacation with a baby but it made the trip 1000 times more fun. The joys of being a parent keep getting better and better and it is true when they say you see a whole new world through your child's eyes. This vacation was probably the cheapest but most fun vacation John and I have ever taken. Doing simple things with Austin was better then taking him to every park and spending tons of money.

Having the Walkenhorst family with us was so much fun. Austin and Nate got along so well and by the end of the trip you could tell they were going to miss each other. It was nice hanging out with Dan and Katie after the boys went to bed (even when it means playing the longest UNO game ever known to man). I think this vacation definitely strengthened our friendship. I can't wait to have more vacations together.

John and I are already planning ahead to next year. (Now as a family of 4 we have to think ahead and save). We most likely will be going to Sesame Place next year which is a whole theme park designed around Sesame Street. Both of our boys will be the perfect age to ride almost everything.

Now its back to getting Austin onto a normal schedule. Naps and bedtime routines. Also we have to start getting ready for our new addition. The nesting stage has definitely set in and I am in super organization mode. Only 65 days left... or less!

Last day in Florida

2009-07-05T21:30:00.003-04:00

Today was our last official day in Florida. We decided to make it a low key day and relax. In the morning we headed off to M&M World. Austin loved this place because it was so colorful.

Austin sitting on the race car in M&M World

After M&M World, we headed back to the condo for one last swim. Unfortunately the water was so warm it was not very refreshing. Later that evening the whole gang headed off to Sweet Tomatoes for one last dinner. Austin loved this restaurant which made it easy for John and I to enjoy our meal. We let Austin stay up late so that he will sleep very good in the car tomorrow. Now we are packing up and loading the car. We are leaving at 3:30 a.m.

4th of July and Florida Vacation - Day 6

2009-07-04T22:43:00.005-04:00

Today was a very relaxing and laid back day on our vacation. We decided that Austin needed a day of just hanging out and doing his "normal" activities of playing and hanging out. We woke up around 7:45am which is sleeping in for Austin and hung out all morning. Austin and Nate have been getting along so well and spent the morning playing and coloring together.

Well along with turning 1, comes the harsh lessons of life and timeouts. Austin got to experience his very first timeout after not listening and almost pulling a huge floor lamp on his self and the TV. Like any good parents would do... we took a picture. Although Austin did not fully understand what a timeout was, John and I felt that it was a good time to introduce this because he is starting to get into everything.

After an afternoon of Chick-fil-A for lunch and naps, we headed over to Oviedo, FL to hang out with my family for one last time. Austin got to enjoy another birthday party filled with yummy chinese food, cake and presents. Austin even got to go swimming with Daddy.

It was a great relaxing day. Just what we all needed after a few busy days. Tomorrow is our last day and although we are sad about leaving, we are excited to get back and see everyone and get back to our normal routines.

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY AUSTIN!!!!!

2009-07-04T08:18:00.011-04:00

Yesterday was our little baby's first birthday! I can't believe that it has been a year since we had that little 6lb squirmy little baby boy. This time last year John and I had no idea what to do with him and now he is an energetic little toddler running around getting into everything. Its amazing how much a baby can change in one year! His not just a baby anymore but, his own person with a big personality.

Over his first year he has become a very independent and determined child. He doesn't like when anything gets in his way even if it's mommy or daddy. He will try things over and over again until he gets what he wants. All in three months he went from crawling, to standing, going up stairs, to walking and now running.

He is a child that loves to study things and people and in a crowed environment, sits back and watches everything that is going on. Just this weekend he has been watching his friend Nate open up doors and yesterday, even though he was way to short, he spent a good amount of time trying to open them. Everyday is a new adventure. Austin has also been practicing his words. On this trip he has been saying 'mama' more. Hopefully with some practice and encouragement he will start to pick up more words.

This is a picture of Austin bright and early on his birthday. I thought he didn't have any clue it was his birthday but the whole day he knew it was a special day and he was the center of attention.

We began Austin's birthday celebration with a yummy trip to IHOP. Austin has really been into coloring lately and when given crayons knows to color on the paper.

At IHOP there was a lady walking around making balloon animals for all the kids. Austin got a special birthday hat that he wore proudly.

Our next stop on the birthday celebration was Downtown Disney. Here we stopped at the Lego store where Austin was able to play with them outside. We found out that he really likes them and we will need to get some for home.

This is an action shot of Austin throwing the Lego back into the bin. At 1 years old he has a really good arm.

Austin outside the Lego store with the Lego puppies. We are not sure but, we think he thought they were real.

After the Lego store we headed to the world's largest Disney store where we let Austin roam around and pick out whatever he wanted. All that walking was tiring and when Austin found a giant Mickey and Minnie he decided to lay down and rest.

Austin in a pair of Mickey ears.

Austin had fun playing in a big train in another toy store.

We had a great time at Downtown Disney even though it was extremely hot. Austin picked out a Nemo cup with a straw and Mickey character toys. After that we went into Team Mickey where Austin got a cool ESPN toddler backpack since he is a big boy and doesn't need a diaper bag anymore. He also got the perfect size bat and ball.

After a quiet rest at home, we all headed to New Smyrna Beach for one last day of ocean fun. Austin really liked playing in the sand which made it very hard to get his football picture.

After a yummy dinner of hot dogs and hamburgers with Uncle Eugene and Aunt Karen's family, everyone sang Happy Birthday to Austin. He was very shy about having everyone sing to him. He did however not miss out on the great old tradition of diving into the cake with your hands.

Austin had a wonderful first birthday. I can't wait for all the new and exciting things that are to come with him. He is the best gift from God that John and I have ever been given and each day we learn so much from him.

Florida Family Vacation - Day 5

2009-07-02T21:41:00.005-04:00

Today was another great day in Florida. We began our day with yet another thunderstorm. We decided since the kids were so little, taking them to a huge water park and paying lots of money to get in would not be worth it. Thankfully Katie did her research and found out that the local parks and rec had a little water park for kids (just Austin and Nate's size). The great part was it only cost $4 per adult to get in.

Austin had a good time but he was very tired. He has been sleeping in until 9 a.m. which means he is not getting a morning nap. He played a little but you could tell by the many yawns that he would rather be napping.

Austin and Mommy cuddling at the water park

Austin was such a big boy and loved climbing up and down the stairs. He even went down the bigger tube slide all by himself. We could not take a picture because we needed one to help him down and the other to catch.

The off and on rain forced us to take a break and wait for the lightning to stop. The boys got a little antsy but they were very good waiting paticently.

Austin going down the froggy slide. He even went under the water a few times without shedding a tear.

Daddy bought Austin a special treat for being such a good boy all day without a nap.

After a day at the mini water park we took the kids home for a little break. Austin decided that a nap was not in his future plans. After about an hour of John and I both laying down with him, we threw in the towel and let him up. Although he was very good, he was not in the best mood when we decided to visit the condo pool for a little bit.

This is Austin desperatly trying to get out of the pool.

For all those that know Austin, he tends to do things his own way and live in his own little world. At the pool he decided that lounging in his baby floaty was much better then sitting in it the right way. All he needed was his sippy cup in one hand and he would have been all set.

For dinner we decided to go out to BB King's House of Blues. Austin was a very good boy and ate a very good dinner and even danced to the music.

Tomorrow is a very exciting day, more so for John and me. Austin turns 1 years old! We are so excited and cant believe that our little tiny baby is now 1 and doing so many things. We hope to make tomorrow a very special day even though Austin has no clue it is a special day.

Florida Family Vacation - Day 4

2009-07-01T22:23:00.005-04:00

Well, day 4 of our family vacation has come to a close and what a great day it was. Last night after a quick trip to one of our favorite places, Chick-Fil-A, Austin fell fast asleep in the car. I was able to carry him up to our condo, undress him, change his diaper and put him in his pj's without waking him up. To our surprise, he went to bed for the night. In the morning, staying true to his schedule, Austin woke up at 6 a.m. on the dot. Luckily we were able to feed him some yogurt, lay him down in bed with us and he slept in until 8:45. We were very excited that he gave us a nice morning to sleep in.

Unfortunately the Florida weather has not been cooperating with us exactly. Yesterday it rained all day and today it called for the same. Upon waking up this morning, we were greeted by thunderstorms. We all took our time getting ready but decided to stick to our original plan of heading to New Smyrna Beach to spend the day with my family. Although the skies looked sketchy, it turned out perfect. Austin and Nate did great with just a short nap in the car and a late dinner. Neither one acted crabby all day long and we got to hang out at the beach and enjoy the warm, but not too hot, weather.

Austin with his cousin Caroline

Austin loved playing in the sand after he warmed up to the idea of being at the beach

Although it wasn't exactly sunny out, Austin couldn't help but try out his new sunglasses

All in all it was a great day, the sun was not out so we didn't have to worry about the little ones getting too hot or sunburned. Austin really enjoyed playing with Nate and his cousins, and loved being spoiled by Aunt Karen and Uncle Eugene. As for the weather, it calls for another rainy day tomorrow so we will have to wait to see what we are going to do.

Florida Family Vacation - Days 1,2 &3

2009-06-30T10:25:00.007-04:00

Well this summer we decided to take our first and last family summer vacation as a family of 3. We decided to head to Florida so Austin could meet his aunt and uncle and cousins. We were a little hesitant about driving 20 hours in a car with a 1 year old that just learned to walk but, Austin was an angel. We could not have asked for a better car ride. For the most part he was very content in his car seat, playing with his toys, having snacks, and playing with mommy or daddy who sat in the back with him.

We left Sunday morning at 3:30am in hopes of getting a lot of driving in while Austin slept. He did great, and we didn't have to stop until 6:30am when we did a quick change of drivers and let Austin stretch his legs a little.

Austin was all smiles playing in the backseat with Mommy

The only long stop we had to make on the trip was in Tennessee where we let Austin play and walk around and had a picnic lunch. The temperature was about 95 degrees with 100% humidity. Us Michiganders were not used to it and got back in the car with the air as soon as possible.

To our amazement, Austin let us get all the way into Georgia. We ended us stopping for the night around 5:00 p.m. so that we could let Austin have a fairly normal evening. By the time we stopped we only had about 7 hours left to drive. We stayed at a really nice hotel that had an indoor pool. After a quick dinner at Ruby Tuesdays, it was off to the pool for a little swimming. We are so happy to report that Austin LOVES the pool now. After some swimming, we headed back to the room for his bottle and some sleep. We were all very tired from a long day in the car and all fell asleep.

Austin thought it was the greatest thing going for a ride on the luggage cart. He road it all the way down from the 3rd floor.

Austin with his new monkey beach towel.

So vacations mean getting to do stuff you normally don't get to do like eat junk food, stay up late, and for Austin pull all the toilet paper off the roll and throw it all over the bathroom. Not the best example but hey, its vacation and we didn't have to clean it up!

We arrived in Florida around 1:30 p.m. We headed right to New Smyrna Beach which is where Uncle Eugene and Aunt Karen were staying for the week. Austin was very happy to get out of the car and instantly started playing with his cousin Caroline. Since we made such good time we were able to visit with them and Aunt Karen's family and have an excellent dinner with everyone. Around 8:00 p.m. Austin was starting to show signs of being tired so we headed out where we spent the night in Oviedo, which is where my uncle's house is. This was the only night Austin's schedule was slightly altered, he went to bed around 10 p.m. When we all got up in the morning we enjoyed the already warm humid weather and went swimming in their pool.

In true Florida fashion it is now raining, Austin is enjoying a long morning nap while John and I are enjoying some relaxation, then it's off to our condo and then lunch at the much anticipated Sweet Tomatoes. We just got word that because of the weather, Dan, Katie, and Nate's flight has been delayed so they will be joining us a little later then planned. Tomorrow will be an exciting day, we are headed back to New Smyrna Beach for a day at the ocean with the family.

1st Father's Day

2009-06-25T13:38:00.005-04:00

Austin and his Daddy on Father's Day

I had an amazing first Father's Day! It was a lot different being on this side of the Father's Day routine. Austin gave me (and Christina) the best Father's Day gift by sleeping in until 8:00am! I'm not sure why he did, but we weren't complaining! After opening presents, breakfast and church, Austin took us to eat at my favorite restaurant, Mongolian BBQ. I had to leave the waitress a large tip after seeing the pile of stir-fry and rice that Austin decided to leave on the floor. Right after lunch, we headed to Grandpa & Grandma's house to visit. Austin had a great time playing with his cousins and tearing up Grandpa and Grandma's house.

Four generations of McMahons on Father's Day

Me and My Dad

After we left my parents' house, we headed over to Grammy & Papa's house. Austin had just enough energy left to tear up their house too!

Austin in my shoes and tie

Father's Day was such a great time. It gave me a chance to reflect on the past year. Austin and Christina have been such a huge blessing in my life, I cannot imagine it without either of them. Being a father is the best thing in the world and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Officially Walking!

2009-06-10T09:08:00.004-04:00

Just a quick update on Austin. We can now consider him to be officially walking. He walks about 90% of the time, only crawling if he falls down. It is very cute to see him wobble around the house. He is learning very quickly to navigate around objects on the floor and corners. Along with walking he is starting to learn the concept of going down stairs. He knows now that going down face first might not be the best method, and he will turn around and scoot his little butt down the first stair. In about another week or two, I am sure he will have it mastered.

Austin has also learned to drink from a straw which most babies already have mastered by now, but for Austin he just could not get the concept. Finally last week, John kept trying to show him and he got it. This makes it a lot easier when we go out to eat so I dont always have to pack a sippy cup. To celebrate his new achievement, he got to pick out Diego cups with straws at the grocery store.

Picnic at the Park

2009-06-01T09:08:00.012-04:00

Yesterday, Austin got to go on his first picnic. We went to the New Baltimore Park which is one of Austin's favorite parks. We packed our sandwiches, watermelon and lots of snacks. Austin was such a good boy, he sat on the blanket by the beach and ate his little sandwich and shared a Twinkie with daddy. Once we were all done eating, Austin sat on the beach and played in the sand.He even got to taste his first (and 2nd, because he obviously didn't learn the first time) handful of sand! After the taste testing, we took a walk by the water and let the waves crash over our toes. Luckily, there were no screams when the water hit his toes, so we are hopeful that swimming this summer will be a fun experience. Austin got to go on the swings, play on the slides, and daddy even took him on all of the big kids stuff, even though it made me very nervous.

After the picnic, we went home and all laid down in our bed and took a family nap. Unfortunately, for John and I, Austin decided it was time to get up, before we were ready. After our nap, we all got up and barbecued chicken for dinner. After dinner it was time for Austin to take a bath, get his bottle and off to bed. It was the most perfect Sunday ever!

On Wednesday Austin is going to be 11 months old. I cant believe how much he has grown. He can now get on and off his bouncing zebra without any help at all. He is walking a lot more, and is almost ready to give up all his bottles. He has 8 teeth and I am sure the way he is teething, more are on the way. He is wearing 12-18 month clothes almost in a size 4 shoe. Size 3 diapers are a thing of the past and we have moved up to size 4. He has grown into a very independent child and rarely likes help with anything. The bigger the challenge the better for him. He has gotten very attached to his blanket and now when he is ready to cuddle, he grabs it and brings it over to you. I am so excited for Florida because he is no longer a baby but a little man, and he is going to be so much fun experiencing all of the new things.

In pregnancy news, this little guy is WAY more active then Austin ever was. I am not sure if it is because I am more active, having to keep up with Austin or if it's him just reminding us he is around. He has also decided that barbecued food, especially ribs is his food of preference. The funny thing about this is I hate ribs! You couldn't pay me to eat a rib in the past but, now that's all I want. Anything with barbecue sauce will do but, ribs are the preference. With Austin there were small things that I liked more but nothing that I had cravings for and definitely not anything I didn't previously like. I was into chocolate milk, applesauce,and english muffins with peanut butter with Austin. Until now I have not had any specific cravings with this one. It's funny how each baby is completely different. I do hope this one takes after Austin in his sleeping habits, sleeping 4 hours at a time from the day he was born.

John's job at Reach Academy did not happen to be God's plan. As disappointing as it is because John has put so much extra time into it and was really hoping to stay there, we both know that God has a perfect job waiting for him. By the next day of finding out he would not be staying at Reach, John got a call from another principal at a brand new National Heritage school. He has his first interview tomorrow. We are leaving everything up to God. If this is the school he is supposed to be at then it will all work out and if its not, then there is another plan.

Random Videos & Pictures

2009-05-25T09:11:00.013-04:00

Austin dancing to music

Austin going for a walk outside

When Austin was a newborn he always took his naps on this blanket. He used to fit perfectly in the middle. Needless to say he doesn't exactly fit but that didnt stop him from taking a 2 hour nap on the floor.

Our cousins from Texas

The swing is so much fun! The slide's a littlle bit more scary

Look I can feed myself!

Me and my little brother.

Austin "helping" with laundry. He loves to push things around the house. The heavier the better. He likes to show how strong he is.

Austin eating his favorite treat pushups. No matter how many times he has one or we tell him they are cold, he still acts surprised everytime he takes a bite.

Mommy's new car

Austin watching John eat a snow cone at the zoo. He wanted to make sure daddy was sharing.

Austin at the polar bear exhibit

Austin and Papa on the boat.

Teething, Teaching and Pregnant

2009-05-19T10:55:00.004-04:00

Well the McMahon's have been a busy bunch of people this last month. With Birthday parties, graduations, illnesses, and out of town family, we have rarely had a moment to relax. I am anticipating the relaxation of a fun McMahon/Walkenhorst family vacation.

For Austin, the last month has been filled with cutting 4 teeth. They have finally all cut through and his count is now up to 8. He has also been walking a lot more, venturing out and taking steps on his own. He is very active and and determined. We are still battling with the concept of "no" and we are often given a huge cheesy smile when his hand is slapped or he is told no. Trying not to laugh or smile back when he is looking so cute has been one of the bigger challenges of disciplining a 10 1/2 month old. He has had his ear infection recheck and well visit and everything is looking good. He is about 20 lbs of solid little boy. He is 30 inches and as his doctor says "he's a big boy". He is back to eating very well and likes to feed himself. Mealtime is much more of a mess now since he wants to do everything himself but, at least it gives us time to eat our own food. Austin is "talking" so much now and everytime you see him, he has tons to say. Right now he pretends everything is a phone and holds it up to his ear and chatters away. He is showing some signs of trying to say certain words, mama not being one of them. I have come to the conclusion he will never say my name because he knows I am always there at the slightest peep. Dada seems to still be his favorite to say, and Dada is who he talks on the pretend phone. He tries to say Kacie which is Grammy and Papas dog. Up and yuck are other words he attempts and comes pretty close to saying. Austin can also locate (when he chooses to do so) a nose and a tongue.

On the downside, this morning he woke up with a pretty nasty cold. He spent most of the weekend outside so I think it just caught up with him. He was so sad this morning and just wanted to be held. Hopefully some sleep and Motrin will help him feel much better.

For me, I am going to be 24 weeks pregnant and its going very well, much like Austins pregnancy. This little guy is much more active then Austin was and he lets his presence be known throughout the day. I have been sick much more in terms of colds, ear infections, and sinus infections. This past weekend I have been battling and severe ear infection that sent me to urgent care. With the help of antibiotics and ear drops the pain is finally under control and now I just have to fight a cough and plugged ear. This pregnancy is flying by compared to Austins. I cant believe that we only have about 4 1/2 months left. I am cherishing all the time I have with Austin because I know that he will have a hard time sharing him mommy with another baby.

As for John, he is busy teaching and loving his job. Being a new teacher and waiting to be offered the permanent position for next year, he has been working really hard to show the principal that he would be a good asset to their school. Hopefully within the month he will be offered the position and we can relax a little, knowing what will be going on next year. He is still working at his other job, not as much thankfully but still enough to the point where some nights he gets home late.

Summer is fast approaching and I can't wait. Austin is going on his first trip to Florida to meet his Uncle Eugene, Aunt Karen and cousins William, Louis, and Caroline. We are very excited. Going to Florida has been almost a yearly event for John and I since we have been dating and we cant wait to bring Austin along this year. We are driving which I am sure will be a challenge but also an adventure. I will be in my third trimester which means flying is out (not that it was an option unless I could have been heavily drugged and knocked out). We will be going to Florida and then making a stop in Tennessee on our way back for a couple of days. Austin will be turning a year old in Florida and what better way to spend a birthday then hanging out on the beach and swimming in the ocean!

Graduation Day!

2009-05-07T22:18:00.007-04:00

Today I officially graduated from Wayne State. I just wanted to take a moment and publicly thank Christina and Austin for their tremendous support! Getting through 8 months of student teaching was very hard on Christina. It left her taking care of Austin many late nights as I went to work after student teaching. I am very happy to be done, but probably not as happy as Christina is.

Thank you Christina - I love you!

10 Months Old!

2009-05-04T09:19:00.002-04:00

On Sunday, Austin turned 10 months old. It is hard to believe that less then a year ago, he was this little peanut that only weighted 6 lbs when we brought him home from the hospital. With turning 10 months came Austins first ear infection. Last week Austin got sent home from daycare with a very high fever. Because of all the crazy stuff going on, we got Austin in to see the doctor right away. He was diagnosed with his first ear infection, although he was miserable, we consider ourselves lucky that he is almost a year old and has not had one before. With lots of Motrin, cuddles from mommy all night, and an antibiotic, he is now doing much better. He is still pulling at his ears but is back to his old self, hurricane Austin, destroying everything in his path!

More updates about Austin: He is now on 1 bottle a day at night. He is completely off baby food and has good days with eating and bad days. For the most part he will try anything. Peas and carrots are still on his do not like list but we find other ways to hide them in his food. For the last 4 days, Austin has been sleeping from 9 p.m. until about 8-9 in the morning. This has been so wonderful for us to get a little taste of sleeping in. This morning I even had to go wake him up so I could go to work! He is still working on walking. He has mastered walking if you hold one of his hands and can take about 5-6 steps on his own if there is something he really wants. He loves pushing anything around the floor. He likes to push our laundry baskets around until he runs into something. Buttons are his new favorite adventure. He now knows exactly what buttons to push on our two tv remotes to turn it on and off. He knows exactly what buttons on his humidifier to push to turn it on and off and is in the process of searching the house for more buttons he is not supposed to touch. He is "talking" more but still refuses to say mama. His loves his dada and calls for him everywhere we go. Dada is always there according to Austin. Austin gives kisses on demand now. Daddy getting the most. He is daddy's little puppy dog, following him around wherever he goes.

We are noticing Austin loves to study everything. His new favorite game is to take all of his diapers out of his basket one at a time. Not only does he take them out one at a time, he places about half on one side of him, then the other side of him, and some behind him. When you watch him, you can tell that in him mind, he is thinking out every move he makes.

In baby news, I am starting to go through another tired phase. This might be in part of Austin being so active. The baby is starting to move a lot more and making his presence known. I have been having some cramping and contractions at night, I think in part to overdoing it. The ultra sound showed that he is healthy and right on track. We do have a name picked out for our new little one but decided to wait until he is born to tell everyone. We are hoping Austin will adjust well, but as of right now, he is very protective of his mommy and does not like when I pay attention to any other baby.

New Job!

2009-04-23T13:58:00.002-04:00

This past Monday John had an interview for Reach Academy in Roseville. Later that day he was offered the position, and started the next day. We are both very excited for John to be offered a position even before he completed his student teaching. His advisers at Wayne State have been very supportive. Although it has been very overwhelming for John to step into a position at the end of the year and without any preparation, he has taken it on full force and is loving every minute. We are both positive that this new opening will lead to bigger and better things for our family and we are excited for the future and the growth of John's new career.

Walking!

2009-04-17T21:51:00.002-04:00

Tonight Austin took his first official steps! He has been standing alone for long periods of time for a few weeks now and tonight, he finally walked. It began with 2 steps and gradually increased to about 6 steps in a row. Austin has been "walking" for a few weeks with his walkers that he pushes around, and tonight he finally ventured out and did it alone. In true Austin fashion, crawling is much easier and when he figured out how much work this walking thing was, he quickly refused to stand up again. With a little more practice, I suspect that within a month he will be walking on his own for the most part.

In other news, this week Austin went from 3 bottles a day to only 2. He did this with no problem at all. He has his full appetite back. He is off baby food and now eats just about anything as long as it is not carrots or peas. He loves pasta, so we have lots of Gerber pasta pick ups which conveniently combine chicken and carrots in their filling so that's how Austin gets his veggies. He will eat green beans so we have a lot of those. His new favorites are Mandarin oranges (thanks to his friend Nate who shared his snack with Austin one night), cottage cheese, string cheese, lunch meat, and fishy crackers. Austin loves to share anything anyone is eating. He like to share rice crispy cereal in the morning, or chocolate chip cookies with daddy, and push ups on occasion which he refuses to share with anyone.

This past week, I was lucky enough to stay home with Austin. We had so much fun and I realize how much I miss him during the day. We are crossing our fingers that John will land a teaching position for next year so I can cut back on my hours and stay home more with our boys.

And yes I said boys. On Good Friday, Austin found out he will be getting a little brother. My parents are now up to 6 grandsons! John and I are very excited. With the two being so close in age, I really wanted Austin to have a brother to play with.

A day at the park

2009-04-06T08:37:00.004-04:00

On Saturday, since it was such a beautiful day, John and I took Austin to the park to play and get some fresh air. Austin had a lot of fun. His favorite thing was going down the slide and walking around since he is such a big boy now.

Austin on the swings. There was a little boy screaming next to him that he kept staring at.

Austin sliding down the slide. He was actually doing really good and didn't need much help

Austin looking at the water

Austin and Daddy taking a walk

In other news, John has only 9 more days of student teaching left! We are very very excited to have him home more often. We took Austin off his allergy medicine because he was not acting right on it. He had no appetite at all and was still throwing up and had a cough. We are now just using over the counter Little Allergies which seems to be helping just as much as the allergy medicine did. It controls the runny nose which at this point is all we can ask for.

Austin is showing signs of walking. He can now walk when someone holds just one hand. He is standing for long periods of time without holding on to anything. Austin has also been sleeping a lot lately so I am sure another growth spurt is on the works. He right now wears 12 month pants and pj's.

John and I are having so much fun with Austin. He is constantly laughing and smiling and doing silly things to make us laugh. If I would keep him one age it would be this one. He is still my cuddly little baby that loves to sit on my lap and snuggle with a blanket, but he is so interactive and funny. He has such a good personality. Austin is now giving kisses when you ask, that is if he is not doing something else. Sometimes, he will just grab your face and start smooching away. Austin is a very lovable child.

Allergies

2009-04-03T10:24:00.003-04:00

As you all know from previous posts, Austin has been sick off and on for awhile now. Its seems like he never gets rid of one cold or runny nose. At first we thought it was just teething but after the scare with pneumonia, I didn't want to take any chances. Last week he started to get the same deep cough and runny nose again. I took him to the doctor right away and she said that since Austin seemed to always be congested, that it most likely is allergies. She gave us some allergy medicine that he takes once a day in the morning. It seems to be helping him a little bit but I have not seen a huge improvement. We also bought a really good cool air humidifier that is supposed to reduce allergy symptoms in his room.

Austin is also going through a no eating phase, and for all of you that know our son, he can eat. He is just not really interested in much food right now. He will still eat oatmeal and his bottles and an occasional snack if he feels like it. I am sure it won't be too long before he is back to his normal self of grabbing food off our plates and putting 5 puffs in his mouth at one time.

Gymboree has been going great. Austin loves it and is very comfortable on all of the equipment. Last night we went to a level 3 class to see if it would be better for Austin. All of the babies in his level 2 class are on the young side. Austin is the only one that can crawl and has a hard time sitting for all of the songs. Level 3 was babies that could walk or were just learning to walk. Austin had a good time but he was worn out. It was a lot more playing than in his other class. We are still going to go to level 2 and to level 3 for awhile. Austins favorite time during class is the parachute. He is the only one that will lay on his back under it the whole time and watch it go up and down. He reached for it and squeals as it comes back down. Its such a change from the very first class when he cried his head off. Last night Austin got a special treat and daddy came to class with us.

Austin meets the Easter Bunny

2009-03-31T09:22:00.002-04:00

This past weekend we took Austin to meet the Easter Bunny. He did look at him a little confused but never fussed or cared. He was such a good boy after a long day.

Austin Conquers the Stairs!

2009-03-26T13:35:00.006-04:00

Last night, Austin learned how to crawl up our stairs. He has been pulling himself up on them but, until last night, has not figured out exactly how to go up. We were all in the living room and he crawled over, pulled himself up, and crawled up the first 2 stairs. Right now he can get himself up on the landing and that is it. All the way up the stairs is too much work for him right now. I am sure it won't be long before he is crawling up them with no trouble. He loves to crawl over everything now. John was laying on the floor and he was trying to crawl over him like it was the stairs. I love when he learns new things because he gets so excited about it and does it over and over again until he masters it.

He has completely mastered pulling himself up on everything. His favorite toy right now is an Elmo table that plays music and sings songs. He loves to stand at it for a very long time just pressing the buttons. Austin is getting so much fun and will now crawl to you when you call him. I can call him from the kitchen and tell him to come and eat and he will speed crawl into the kitchen. He loves to wave and will wave hi to his daddy over and over again. He is also starting to play shy and will put his head to the side or on my shoulder.

Austin has basically moved on from baby food, although he still prefers it. I still buy it for when he is at the babysitter's and we are out just because it is easier. He still does not like to sit and feed himself. He gets bored very fast and would rather play than eat. Right now he usually gets oatmeal with fruit or pancakes for breakfast. We found out he does not like french toast sticks. For lunch, he will usually eat a jar of stage-3 food, pasta with butter and parmesan cheese, or green beans. He does not like carrots or peas. At dinner he will usually eat whatever we are eating. He loves pasta like noodles with butter or mac and cheese, also pizza is one of his new favorites, cheese crumbles, or anything mommy puts on his tray. Food right now is not his priority and usually he likes to eat and run. Last night I was eating a bowl of noodles and he would come up, grab a handful and be on his way.

Austin is also showing signs is getting rid of his daytime bottles. He only has 3 bottles a day and he uses his sippy cup so much now I think he would be ok without his afternoon bottle. In about 4 months he will be ready to get rid of formula and switch to milk. I hope by then to have him only on a night time bottle, if any at all.

Austin learns to stand!

2009-03-17T10:14:00.004-04:00

I know I have been posting a lot of updates lately but, it seems that each day Austin is learning or experiencing something new. It is so exciting seeing him discover new things even though most of the things he wants, he is not supposed to have. He has now learned how to get out of trouble. When you say no to him, he looks at you and gives you the biggest and cutest smile possible. It is very hard to scold him when he looks at you with those big blue eyes and huge smile.

Last night Austin learned to pull himself up to a standing position. I am so excited about his new talent. We put him down to bed at about 8:30pm. Since Austin has been sick, he has been refusing to go to bed until about 10:00pm. John noticed on the monitor that he was standing in his crib, but, he sat himself down right away. A few minutes later, I went into the room to lay him down again and when I walked in he was standing there will a very proud smile on his face. Of course we made a huge deal about it and got the camera out and had a mini photo shoot. We have been practicing standing on his own and he has gotten really good at balancing himself for a few minutes. I am sure walking is not far away -- which is good because our little man now weighs about 19.5 lbs and is getting hard to carry around!

Health Update!

2009-03-16T09:56:00.004-04:00

I am happy to announce that the antibiotics seem to be working and Austin is starting to show signs of feeling much better. On Friday, I stayed home with him and he was crawling all over the place. I think that he was so happy that he was feeling better that he didn't want to slow down. I had to calm him down every hour or so and he would pass out in my arms from being so tired. He didn't understand that even though he felt better, he was still sick and had to slow down. On Saturday, John and I took Austin to a Gymboree class and he loved it. He got to crawl all over the place and go in and out of tunnels. We were very surprised that he was not afraid to go in them. He also had fun singing and dancing. Austin was not a fan of the parachute though, but, I am sure with time he will get used to it. I am taking him to another class tonight and hopefully this is something we will be able to do weekly. Austin's appetite isn't all the way back yet. But, he has only thrown up twice in a the last couple of days which is a huge improvement.

Some other updates on Austin: he is now sleeping on his stomach. The minute we lay him down in his crib he rolls over and starts crawling around. He will usually play for about 30 minutes and then pass out on his stomach. It is very cute to see him laying on his stomach with his butt up in the air. I am glad that he has no problem sleeping on his stomach otherwise I would be in there all night turning him over. Austin has also decided that he is now going to go to bed at 9-10:00pm instead of 7:30. I am not sure if this is a phase or not but, I sure hope so.

Austin is now eating a lot of solid food. For breakfast we have been giving him french toast sticks which he is starting to like a lot. Its nice being able to hand him one and he can feed himself. He likes holding stuff in his hands and gets very mad if you try to take them away. On Saturday, we had a birthday party and we gave Austin a whole piece of bread to keep him happy. We were very surprised when ate the whole thing without a problem. That night I think he ate about 3 pieces of bread.

John is almost done with his student teaching and I could not be happier. We are counting down the days. I recently have changed positions at work. Although this position change came with a large pay cut, the stress that I have had from my old position was not worth it. John and I decided that I would be much happier back in the office then I was being a teacher and having to deal with all that drama. So happiness does come with a price but, for my family and me its worth it.

Prayers for Austin

2009-03-12T18:55:00.002-04:00

Austin had his doctors appointment today and unfortunately we found out that he has pneumonia. The doctor said that is has not reached the serious point but that it needs to be watched carefully. She gave Austin a prescription for an antibiotic which is supposed to speed up the process of clearing it up. He is still throwing up which makes me nervous that he will get dehydrated so please pray for Austin and for us that we are doing the right things to get our sweet little baby better. Right now he is so miserable and has no voice from crying.

Sick Baby

2009-03-12T09:14:00.002-04:00

Austin has been a very sick little guy for the past few days. It all began on Sunday when he woke up in the middle of the night burning up with a fever of 102.6. We stripped him down and gave him medicine and it seemed to help a little. On Monday he was still very warm and the fever never seemed to come down much no matter how much medicine we gave him. I had to come home from work early and try to get him to drink something since he wasn't really eating or drinking anything. Finally on Monday night his fever seemed to come down and he seemed to be getting a little bit better. He was still very clingy and didn't want to eat much but at least the fever was back to normal. On Tuesday he went off to Aunt Anne's and was ok all day, no fever and an ok appetite. When we got home on Tuesday I fed him some fruit for dinner and when John was holding him, he started throwing up. We thought maybe it just didn't agree with him because he had been ok all day. The rest of the evening was fine. He went to bed at the normal time, not taking much of his bottle but I figured he was just tired. At at 2 a.m. I heard him coughing and it didn't seem to stop so I went into his room and he was just sitting there coughing and crying. The coughing sounded like it hurt. So I scooped him up and decided he could sleep with us. Well from then on he was coughing so much that he threw up 3 more times. Between pajama changed and changing the sheets on our bed, the three of us were exhausted. We finally all got to sleep at about 4:30. I decided that I was going to stay home with Austin and call the doctors to see if I could get him in. The poor little guy was so tired he sleep until a little after 9 a.m. I called the doctor and unfortunately they could not get him in until today. I spent the day doing whatever I could to make Austin feel a little better. He would play for a few minutes and then it was back in my arms crying and rubbing his eyes. Most of the time he would just pass out in my arms from being so tired. Hopefully today the doctor can help, even if its relieving the cough at night so he can sleep.

On the upside... We think the fever was from teething because he cut his two upper teeth at the same exact time so now he has 4 teeth. Along with that he now has a runny nose so that is making really hard for him to breathe with the cough and stuffy nose. Our poor little guy. Its bad enough having to go through teething but now being sick on top of that.

On the Move

2009-03-05T08:36:00.008-05:00

Austin officially learned to crawl last night. John and I were so excited. Austin on the other hand was not and thought that this crawling stuff took a little too much work. Although he figured it out, he still prefers to push himself backwards. When he really wants something (usually something he is not supposed to have) he will go forward without a problem.

Kiss me I'm Irish

2009-02-24T10:48:00.002-05:00

Austin can not wait to celebrate his first St. Patricks Day! Our little Irish baby looks so cute!

7 months old and growing!

2009-02-12T10:37:00.003-05:00

Austin is now 7 months old and as I look back at pictures of the day he was born I cannot believe it is the same child and that it only has been 7 months. Its amazing how a child can change that much in such a small amount of time. Each new stage Austin encounters, I find new adventures and new challenges being a parent. Right now Austin is VERY VERY active. He wants to crawl so badly and gets very frustrated that he cannot get where he wants to go. He can get himself around and can go backwards very well but that does not make him happy. We suspect that it will be any day now that he figures out how to get going. That will be our biggest challenge because Austin is the kid that wants to get into everything and although he knows the word "no" very well, most of the time he choses to ignore it. All I can think about is the long nights of having to make sure every little thing is off the floor and put away. Austin also has gotten his bottom 2 teeth and I think that more are on the way. It is very sweet to see his big smile with his two little teeth sticking up. On the downside, he bites and the other night he was on the floor and bit my toe. He doesn't really know that those little teeth are sharp as knives! Austin has also started eating "real" food. For a child that can not crawl, if you have anything that even looks like food, he can make it across the room in a heartbeat. We call him our little birdy because he sits there with his little mouth open waiting for something to be put in it. I have noticed, with me at least, he is not picky at all. He will eat anything that I have. I even gave him some of my broccoli last night and he kept wanting more. I am glad that he is not picky and I have really tried hard to expose him to many foods so he won't be a picky eater. The food issue is a problem though when we are eating something he can not have. Again, he knows the word "no" but wants nothing to do with it. He will scream and whine until you put the food away. Also eating out now is hard because he is not big into sharing and does not feel that you should get any of the food. I do have fun letting him try new foods, last night he got to taste a slurpee, which he did not like because it was cold but that did not stop him from coming back for more and more.

Austin has had a terrible cold ever since we came home from Frankenmuth. He has been very stuffy and has a runny nose and an awful cough. The nose seems to have dried up a little bit but the cough is still there and sounds very painful. He has an appointment next week for his flu shot so we will have the doctor take a look at him then. During this cold he has been so stuffy that he has been waking up screaming and hard to console, so he had to sleep with me a few nights. Although I love cuddling with Austin, sharing a bed with him is another thing. When Austin sleeps with me he has to have his face right in mine and has to be as close to me as possible. He likes to put his little arm around me and rub my arm to make sure I don't go anywhere. Yes it is very sweet but add a little baby snoring, breathing, and coughing in your face all night, and it equals a long night with little sleep for me.

John's student teaching is about 1/2 way done. I am so excited. John has to leave so early in the morning that he usually sees Austin for a few minutes, and that leaves me to getting him and myself ready and out the door by 7am so we can get him to the babysitter's or school and me to work on time. Between my stuff for work and Austin's stuff for the day, it looks like we are going on a week-long vacation every morning when we come out of the house. I can't wait until John can take over with taking him in the morning. In the evening, it is the same thing because John has to work late so I have to pick him up. Our favorite time of the day is when John gets home and I can hand over Austin and take a deep breath. Graduation day for John can not come soon enough!

As for me, work has been very trying lately and I often question why I am even there. If John was not student teaching, I most likely would have walked out by now. I have been praying a lot because I love what I do but the business itself has become unbearable to work for. The administration is selfish and unsupportive of their staff. Each day I push through and remind myself it's a job and I should be thankful because so many people are without. It's just hard because it is so draining that I feel it takes away from Austin. Hopefully next year we might be in the position for me to stay home or work will get better.

Splash Village

2009-02-02T09:43:00.005-05:00

This past weekend we took our first official family vacation. John, Austin, and I headed to Frankenmuth for the night. We stayed at Zenders Splash Village which has an indoor water park. We thought Austin would love the pool because he loves playing in the bath... boy, were we wrong. The minute his toes touched the water he screamed like we never heard him scream before. I tried to take him the lazy river and he held on in a frantic panic like I was about to let go. Everytime I dipped a little lower into the water he would scream his head off. After trying the big water park we thought it might be better to go to the little pool. Austin still hated it but, he didn't scream as long as we were holding on to him tight. His only defense was to fall asleep in hopes we would take him out of the water so, thats what he did. He was holding on to John for dear life and fell asleep in the water. We finally did take him out and he held on to me so tight, as we wrapped him in a few towels, and fell right back asleep. We are hoping he will get used to it at some point. Austin loved staying at the hotel and with is new tooth was excited to try tons of people food. Mommy barely could eat because Austin would not let anyone take a bite before they put food in his mouth. We did bring the pack-n-play but Austin decided that sleeping with Mommy in the big bed was much better. So, Daddy had to sleep on the other bed all alone which I am sure he did not mind. We did discover that traveling with an infant is much different and when they go to sleep there is not much to do so, it was off to bed for us at 8:30pm (which is not a bad thing when Austin has a wake time of 6:00am, vacation or no vacation).
Austin also added a new addition to his mouth yesterday and cut his second lower tooth. He is very excited and will bite on everything to test them out.

My first tooth!

2009-01-30T17:09:00.003-05:00

Austin cut his first tooth today. You still can not see it but you can feel it. It is very sharp. He is very proud of his new addition and hopefully we can post a picture soon once it pops up more.

Feeding himself

2009-01-27T13:27:00.004-05:00

Last night Austin offically fed himself. He has been practicing the pincher grab for awhile but had not mastered it until last night. Within the last few weeks, Austin gets very angry when anyone eats anything around him and they do not share. He screams and stares you down until you give up some of your food. Its fun watching him try new foods but the whole solids thing still makes me nervous. Austin really does not chew the food but swallows it so we have to give him very very small pieces. Last night John has rolls on his plate and of course Austin was staring him down and yelling. He was reaching aross the couch trying to get to them so we started giving him little pieces. Towards the end I would put the piece in my hand and have Austin pick it up. It took a few trys but he did pick up the piece of roll and it got to his mouth. Of course mommy cheered and was all excited. Austin got a big smile on his face. He likes when I get excited because he does something and is always making sure I am watching what he is doing so he can get the appropriate praise. I am excited because now I can start putting a snack down on his tray and he can feed himself. He has been having fruit in one of those mesh food holders which he loves, but now he actually can have little pieces of fruit!

6 month doctor visit

2009-01-15T14:26:00.003-05:00

Austin just got back from his 6 month well visit with the doctor. Thank goodness for my wonderful husband who took him this time. I just could not take watching my baby get 4 more shots. Austin now weights 17 lbs and is 28 inches long! He is in the 90th percentile for his height. He is going to be a tall boy. The pulling on his ear, is luckily just aggravation from teething and not an ear infection. Now begins the next couple of days with Austin being a little sensitive and crabby from the shots. Luckily with a little help from Tylenol he will be ok.

Mmmmm Ice Cream!!!!

2009-01-15T09:15:00.006-05:00

Last night Austin got his first taste of ice cream. Needless to say he enjoyed it every much and was not happy with his mommy when she would not share more. What was supposed to be a little taste from my ice cream cone turned into Austin reaching with both hands and pulling the cone to his mouth. Oh well whats a little sugar right before bed!

Austin also now loves to put his little rubber duckies in his mouth when he takes a bath. Bath time is Austin and Daddy's time together. They have fun and take silly pictures.
Austin has also been waking up in the middle of the night crying. Not a little cry but screaming. We are not sure what is upseting him but he enjoys being scooped up and spending some time sharing mommy's pillow. Although its not the ideal situation and I barely get any sleep because Austin is either glued to me and if I move away he moves closer, or he has to rub my face, He is so sweet and peaceful when he is in our bed that we just let him sleep.
We have been letting Austin help feed himself on occasion. Well usually Austin takes matters into his own hands and as you are putting the spoon into his mouth he quickly snatches it and gets a death grip on it and you cant get it out of his hands. Sometimes if we have time we let Austin practice and make a mess.

Austin has also learned to play peek -a- boo.

Three Become Four

2009-01-09T09:10:00.002-05:00

Today we found out that we are expecting another baby. Even though I had the feeling that I was pregnant, it still was a shock when we took the test. Although this was not planned, we are very excited at the fact of having a sibling for Austin who will be so close in age, 14 months apart.

Happy Birthday Mommy!

2008-12-31T11:07:00.002-05:00

I want to wish Christina a very Happy Birthday. Christina has been an amazing Mom and Wife. Austin and I are very blessed!!

I had the best birthday ever! John let me sleep in while him and Austin made me pancakes. After that they gave me the card that they made and my presents. Because of the holiday, I do not like to go out to eat late, so we went to and lunch/early dinner with Austin at California Pizza Kitchen which is my current favorite restaurant. Austin was very good while we ate, and he even learned how to take his baseball hat off. He was trying to put it back on but has not mastered that skill yet. Austin is always cracking John and I up with the new things he does. His current favorite game playing peek a boo.

After lunch John and I dropped Austin off at Grammy and Papas and went to the movies. It was very nice being able to watch a movie with just John and I. We then picked up Austin and headed home. Holidays are a little different with and infant. The rest of our night was our usual routine until Austin went to bed. And because Austin has not mastered the art of sleeping in, he was that morning at 6 so by 11:30 John and I were passed out on the couch. We woke up at 12:01! Oh well it has been the best year, adding Austin to our family and the best birthday ever, spending it with John and Austin.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-28T23:32:00.012-05:00

Austin successfully made it through his first Christmas like a champ. With all the running around and late nights, Austin, for the most part, adjusted well. To start off our holiday season John and I decided to redo our downstairs. With tons of help from my dad, we painted the whole downstairs and upstairs hallway, re-tiled the fireplace and replaced our carpet with wood floors. We also got a new front door as a present from my parents. It was a lot of hard work, more for John and my dad (but having your house torn apart for 3 weeks with a 5 month old is not easy either!). We got through it and the house looks wonderful. Austin was a little upset through the process because it was loud and he couldn't spend time playing on the floor and had to spend a lot of time upstairs but he was good.

Every year John's family meets at Target to do his Grandpa's Christmas shopping. Everyone goes and picks out their gift and John's Grandpa stands at the register and pays for everything. Afterwards, we all go out to dinner. Austin was very excited to pick out his own present this year.

To start our Christmas festivities we had our annual progressive dinner with John's brothers, sister, and parents. It began at noon and ended around 9pm. I didn't know how well it would go with Austin being packed up every hour into his coat and car seat (which he hates), and not having a nap but he was good and by the third house he crashed and slept the whole time. He never even made it out of his car seat and had to open his present the next day.

Austin also debuted his new talent. He is actually very good at this.

(This isn't the full video - for some reason it won't load right. Also, I don't know how to turn the video sideways - sorry!)

On Christmas Eve, Austin went to Grammy and Papa's house. He got to spend lots of time with his cousins, who are very entertaining to Austin. Austin likes to sit and watch all the action as they all run around the house.

On Christmas morning, Austin gave us a present and slept into around 7:00am. Once he was up, he was more concerned with his breakfast than presents. Santa must have known Austin was a very good boy because he left him a lot of presents. To our surprise, Austin actually understood the concept of opening the presents. He may have just wanted to eat the paper, but he enjoyed it.

On Christmas night Austin went to his Great Uncle Bill's house for dinner. Austin loves spending time with John's family and so does mommy and daddy because there are enough people there to hold Austin so we can actually eat dinner together.

Random Pictures:

(practicing his crawling)

(who's addicted to the tv??)

(We started a new tradition this year. On Thanksgiving you get a new pair of Christmas pajamas and a Christmas movie.)

(Austin trying on hats at Meijer. He sits in the front of the cart now which makes shopping much easier!)

Big people food!

2008-12-15T15:12:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was another huge day for Austin. He got to eat his first teething biscuit and later that night had pieces of banana. I was very very nervous the whole time but, Austin did great. He never even gaged until he put the biscuit too far in his mouth. He got very mad when we took it away. Austin liked his bananas but, since I have been making his banana baby food, he didn't seem to notice that I put something different in his mouth. He just chewed them up and went about playing. He still can't put them in his mouth by himself - which will be nice when he can feed himself a snack. We will keep practicing though!

Austin Learned a New Dance

2008-12-15T15:08:00.001-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

5 Months Old!

2008-12-11T14:32:00.006-05:00

John and I have been so busy that I just noticed we have not updated or added new pictures in a very long time.

Well the big new is... JOHN IS DONE WITH HIS FULL-DAY STUDENT TEACHING!!!!!!!!! Austin and I are so excited to be able to have John home before 8:00pm every night. These last 4 months have been very hard on me and especially Austin not getting to see John very much. He loves his daddy so much and bursts into a huge smile whenever John walks in the room or even looks at him so, now they will get to spend a lot of time together. I am just as excited to get to spend time with John.

Our little peanut is now 5 months old and growing every second. He finally is getting hair which makes me very happy. His little peach fuzz is getting darker and longer. He is officially sitting by himself. We still put a pillow behind him because he falls back once in awhile. He loves to sit on the floor and play with his toys. I can now actually get stuff done because he is very content entertaining himself. Austin is grabbing EVERYTHING now. If it's not nailed down it's in Austin's mouth. He has found his feet and the minute he lays down has to grab them. Which has made diaper changes a little more challenging but we are working through it. He has learned in the last few days how to pull off his socks which then end up in his mouth.

Austin has also started showing signs of crawling. He wants to move when he is on his stomach he just hasn't figured out how. We have been practicing with him - getting him up on his knees. When we do tummy time he looks like a fish out of water right now, moving his arms and legs but not getting anywhere. He used to fall asleep during tummy time, so at least now he knows he wants to go somewhere.

We still have no signs of any teeth but have constant biting and drooling. I feel bad for the little guy because you can tell his gums are bothering him. Hopefully something will happen soon and he will get a little relief.

Austin is now eating baby food 3 times a day. He loves it so much that he hasn't been taking his bottles that well so we are going to have to cut down his portions so he will start to take them. Normally, he would have some oatmeal and fruit in the morning, veggies and fruit for lunch, and some brown rice cereal and veggies or fruit for dinner. He is such a good eater and is not very picky. He has decided he does not like peas, and cries when he realizes that's what I put in his mouth. Austin also really likes to help when it comes to feeding. Once we put the food on the spoon he likes to grab it and put it in his mouth. he does a really good job and other then the really big mess it makes, we don't mind and let him help.

Austin is doing great at Grammy's, Aunt Anne's, and Little Turtle School. Other then packing him up each day for a different place, John and I really like that he gets different things at each place. With Grammy he gets one-on-one attention and he loves that. At Grammy's it's nice and quiet and he gets to cuddle and play with Kacie. At Aunt Anne's, Austin gets entertained all day long. His cousins sing and dance and put on shows for him. He also gets to go out places which he loves. He loves his Aunt Anne and likes to give her flirty eyes because he knows she will spoil him. Austin loves Little Turtle school and his teachers really love him. I like that he gets to be around other babies his age and there a few older babies in his class that he watches. With Austin being an only child, I think it is really good for him to have that interaction with other kids.

Austin got to have his first visit with Santa last Friday. When we got there at 5:00pm, we were shocked to hear the next available appointment wasn't until 7:20pm. I was hesitant about waiting since Austin usually goes to bed right around that time but we waited and I was so glad we did. Being the good mommy that I am, I completely forgot to pack Austin any baby food for dinner. All I had was one 6 oz bottle with me. John being the great husband and daddy he is, left the mall and went to 2 different grocery stores to find Austin his organic baby food. Other then a sweet potato stain on his shirt from dinner (along with no food, I also did not have a bib), Austin did great with Santa. Austin was such a good boy this year that Santa even sang his favorite counting song to make him smile for the picture. Of course Austin was the cutest kid in the mall and got stopped every few feet to have people say how adorable he is. Austin never gets sick of the attention and puts on a huge toothless smile whenever anyone talks to him.

John has taught Austin how to stick out his tongue. This makes telling Austin no when he is doing something he is not supposed to interesting because you tell him no and he sticks out his tongue. Fortunately we know he doesn't mean it and is just practicing his new skill.

Like Father, Like Son?

2008-11-29T11:35:00.003-05:00

Everyone tells us that Austin looks just like his Daddy. What do you think?

Sleepover

2008-11-22T15:03:00.004-05:00

Austin had his first sleepover last night. His cousins Brooke, Brennan and Riley spent the night. After going out for pizza we made a fire where we had s'mores. The girls played Hannah Montana on Wii and then it was the boys' turn to play some Madden football (which quickly put the girls to sleep). In the morning we had some pancakes and then it was time to go...

Squeaky Clean

2008-11-16T21:59:00.011-05:00

Austin and Daddy reading a bedtime story

Tonight Austin had his first bath in his big boy ducky tub. He is growing so fast that he no longer fits in his baby tub and was getting the whole floor wet every time he was taking a bath. He was very excited and loved it. He got to sit up and play for a long time. When he got tired it was very comfy for him to lay down and play.
I know I say this every post but I can not believe how fast Austin is growing and changing. It seems that everyday he is doing new things and is getting to be more of a "big boy" and less of a baby. This week he will be 20 weeks. He is eating baby food now which he is not so sure about sometimes. We try to tell him he can't have bottles his whole life. Right now oatmeal made with pear juice and sweet potatoes seem to be his two favorites. This weekend I made my first attempt at making a bunch of baby food for Austin. It was actually fun and thanks to a 2 hour nap Austin took, I got all of it made. On the menu was avocados and bananas, plain bananas, peaches, squash, sweet potatoes, apples, pears, pumpkin and apples and green beans. I made a trip to the organic grocery store and bought everything for his food. It was so easy. I plan to continue it. The food tastes so good, much better then the organic baby food from the store.

Austin also has his first play date in Friday. We went to visit my friend Jessica that I went to school with. Jessica and I started hanging out in elementary school and now her little girl Maddie is only 2 months younger then Austin. It was so cute seeing them together. Austin kept trying to grab her hand. We cant wait to get together again.

Austin has also began holding his own bottle although we still hold it for him. He has been grabbing at it but tonight he held it for a very long time until he feel asleep.

Quick update

2008-11-10T22:45:00.005-05:00

Austin is officially sitting on his own. This weekend at his cousin Brenden's 7th birthday party, I sat him on the floor and put a boppy pillow behind him incase he fell. To my surprise he sat like that for about 3-5 minutes without falling. Yesterday, I did the same thing and he sat and played with his leap frog alphabet ball for a few minutes.

He hates to lay down and is working on pulling himself up from a laying position. A few times I have thought he was actually going to sit himself up.

He has not been napping during the day very well. We are not sure why but every night around 5pm he has a major meltdown. We are hoping to get him back on track soon.

He has not seen the surgeon yet, but praise God it looks like his belly button is healing up on its own. We are still going to have him checked but it wont be until December. We are believing it is going to continue to heal on its own.

I'm a big kid now!

2008-11-04T14:16:00.004-05:00

Austin had his 4-month well visit today. He is now 14 lbs and 27 inches long! The doctor said he is a very tall baby and has grown 3 inches in 2 months! I had a feeling he was going to be tall like his daddy but now I think he might be even taller. He had to get 3 shots, which was horrible for him and me. He screamed all the way to Aunt Anne’s, and finally fell asleep right before we pulled in the driveway. Our doctor also wants Austin to see a surgeon soon because he might have a slight hernia. His belly button has been really red that last couple of days and she would like a pediatric surgeon to take a closer look at it. She said that it might be something that can be cauterized or might need surgery on. We are praying that it is nothing and he will not need any medical treatment.

On the brighter side, Austin is growing and changing so fast that every morning I ask him if he grew over night. John and I are amazed at the things he is doing. He is now eating 6 oz every 4 hours (thanks to a little challenge made by his younger cousin Cody) Austin has also started on baby food since his little belly is not getting full from just formula anymore. He usually has oatmeal in the morning with some bananas or pears (which he is not fond of), and peas in the evening which he loves. John and I have decided to give Austin all organic food to help reduce the amount of chemicals in his body. We decided it was something small we could do for Austin that would contribute to a healthy life. I hope to start making his baby food so that he has more of a selection then what is offered from pre-made organic baby food. With a little guidance from Katie, I think I can do it. (Have I mentioned John and I would not have a clue what we are doing without Dan and Katie?) Austin has gone back to sleeping through the night. He rarely wakes up in the middle of the night anymore. He usually goes to bed about 8pm and wakes up about 7am. Daylight savings time has been a wonderful event in our home. Austin did not take to well to it the first night and tried to go to bed at about 6 at night.

Austin is rolling over now and is never in the same position that we left him at night. Most of the time he is completely the opposite direction that we left him.

This is what happens when you leave a 4 month old on the couch while you make his bottles. We literally turned our back for less them a minute. Its hard to tell but he was laughing in the second picture. I think he would have just sat there if we hadn't picked him up.

He loves standing and can stand on his own if he is leaning against something. He has also been practicing sitting on his own and if not tired, can actually sit alone for a minute or so. Austin is officially teething, with confirmation from his doctor. Austin spends most of his day with one or both hands in his mouth and the rest of his day drooling. It is quite amazing; he can actually fit his whole fist in his mouth. Lately he has been trying to suck his thumb while drinking his bottle. 4 months old and he is already a multi-tasker!

On Halloween Austin, John and I went to Grace Christian Church for their "Candy Town" event with Anne, Dave and the kids. Beforehand we all met at Fudruckers for dinner. Austin had a great time. He got to see Dan, Katie, Nate and Uncle Tim, Aunt Vicki, Cade and Noah, also. Grace put on a wonderful event which John and I were very happy to see. We wanted to find something that we could do with Austin every year. There were a ton of carnival games which Daddy played to win Austin candy. After all the games, they did a wonderful praise song for the kids along with a skit about sin. All of the kids had tons of fun and Austin’s older cousins left with huge bags of candy. We can’t wait to attend next year when Austin is older and can play some of the games himself.

John is halfway done with student teaching and we couldn’t be happier. Austin is definitely a daddy’s boy right now. He loves his mommy but when daddy’s around it's all about him. John can get Austin to laugh just by talking to him. We can’t wait until John can come home early and spend more time with our little guy.

Trunk or Treat

2008-10-27T22:27:00.000-04:00

Last night Austin got to go "trunk" or treating for the first time. John, Austin and I went with Dan, Katie, and Nate to their church. People decorate the trunks of their cars and all the kids dress up and walk around collecting candy. Austin dressed up as a turkey and had a great time. He even managed to stay awake for most of the event. He was so happy to be able to play with Nate. Austin is starting to become more interactive and will soon be able to keep up with Nate who is always on the move now that he can crawl and stand.

Austin also got to go on his first trip to Frankenmuth. He was such a good boy and took a nice long nap in the car on the way there. When we got there we decided to try to see if he was able to sit in a high chair considering his dislike of his car seat and to our surprise he loved it. He sat like such a big boy for about 30 minutes just playing with his new toys. I actually got to eat about half of my meal before he decided he wanted out. We love his new ability to play with toys. Right now his favorite toys are his little soft books. He will sit and look at them for a long time.

He is also grabbing at things which means we really have to watch what we put close to him (as we recenlty learned when he almost dumped my glass of pop at dinner. John's birthday was on the 23rd, so we went out to his favorite restaurant, Mongolian BBQ.

Austin even made Daddy a birthday card!

So, Nate and Austin started a new tradition this year. They will be posing after the MSU and U of M game in their team's colors. As you can see, Nate was all smiles with the Spartans win. Don't worry Austin... Michigan will win next year....and the year after that... and the year after that...

Trip to the Cider Mill #2

2008-10-23T10:00:00.011-04:00

Last weekend Austin went to the Westville Orchards & Cider Mill with Mommy, Daddy, Papa, Grammy, Aunt Jen, and his cousins Brenden, CJ, Kaiden and Cody. He had a great time looking at the petting zoo animals, sitting in the pumpkin patch and watching his cousins play on the slide and hay stacks.

Here are some pictures from his day:

This is Austins "angry face" He does not like to get woken up before he is ready

The busy life of Austin

2008-10-15T22:22:00.006-04:00

Austin has been a very busy little boy. He is growing and growing, so much we are having a hard time keeping clothes that fit him. It seems that everyday he has grown out of something. Austin is now 15 weeks old and learning so much. He recently started rolling over.

The only problem with this is he loves to roll over but hates when he does and is stuck on his stomach so mommy or daddy has to rescue him. The first time he rolled over was in his crib at about 4:00am. I heard him cry which he never does and walked in to see him on his stomach and his little legs stuck in the bars. He was probably wondering why we were telling him he was such a good boy and we were so proud of him. Along with this new rolling over thing, Austin is going through some sort of phase where he is again waking up in the middle of the night and not really napping during the day. His naps might be about 45 minutes to an hour if we are lucky. All of the people that take care of him, and John and I are all praying this phase is a quick one and we get back on track with sleeping through the night and taking long naps.

Austin has started eating cereal on occasion. We were giving it to him every night and he really seems to like it but we are not sure if it is bothering his little tummy so we have taken him off of it this week to see if it makes a difference.

Along with turning 3 months old, Austin took another huge step and dedicated his life to the Lord. Austin got to have a very nice party where all of his family and friends got to show up and help him celebrate this wonderful event.

Our little man is getting so big and doing new things each and every day. He loves to stand and has very strong legs. He is starting to play with toys and we hate to admit it but he is quite addicted to the TV. He is still working on sitting on his own and hopefully will have that mastered soon with the help of his bebe pod seat.

Austin is doing very well going to babysitters and to school. Grammy gets to spoil him all day long and he loves playing with Kacie. Austin loves going to Aunt Annes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. He gets to go for walks and play with his cousins. Austin also loves going to Little Turtle school. He gets to play with bubbles and see all of his friends.

Austin went to his first Red Wings game on October 9th. He was able to see the Stanley Cup and witness the Championship banner raised to the rafters!

Austin also went to his first Michigan football game with Mommy and Daddy. Although he slept during the entire game and Michigan lost, he had a great time. Daddy is looking forward to taking him to MANY more games in the future!

As for John and I, we are still hanging in there. We are both on opposite schedules right now each working late nights while the other one has Austin. We can't wait until his student teaching is done and hope the next two months go by very fast.

More Autographs

2008-10-03T21:21:00.005-04:00

Austin added to his autograph collection yesterday. He met Calvin Johnson from the Detroit Lions. Austin had a little Calvin Johnson jersey on for his picture.

Getting so big!

2008-09-29T21:58:00.004-04:00

Family photo at the cider mill

Just me and my dad

B is for Bear. It may be a silly outfit but I sure look cute.

Austin getting his "teeth" brushed for the first time

Austin loves his Elmo toothpaste

This is what happens when a 2 month old makes a card for grandparents day

Being a big boy at the cider mill. And yes he is standing all by himself with just a little support for balance.

Passed out after a fun day with Grammy

Austin is now almost 13 weeks old and amazing us everyday with new and exciting things. He took his first trip the the cider mill on Saturday. Unfortunately he was a very tired little boy and slept through most of the day. He did wake up long enough to get a few pictures taken and to taste a little cider that mommy put on her finger. He still prefers milk and was not very thrilled with the new taste. Austin also started to brush his "teeth" or technically gums. Daddy brushes them every morning and every night to help Austin get used to it and to keep those gums healthy.

Austin has been learning many new things. He is now playing and grabbing at toys a lot. His favorite toys are his little chain links. He has a very bad habit of watching the TV which we are trying to break and has even been caught turning his head while feeding to see what is on. We now have to turn it off to get him to concentrate on eating. Austin has also been practicing sitting on his own and has almost got it. He can balance himself for a few seconds which is pretty good for a 3 month old. He is also moving all over his crib at night and we often wake up to his hands sticking out of the side of the crib. Austin is also standing with assistance and now prefers that over any other position. He has decided he is a big boy and does not want to lay down if he doesn't have to. We also believe that Austin has started teething. He has been running a slight fever, drooling nonstop and has been a little irritable, to say the least.

John and I are also doing really great. John is a month into his student teaching and loving every minute of it. I on the other hand, am not and miss having him home. Austin is a handful and by the time John gets home from work, it's usually just long enough to see Austin for a few minutes and then say goodnight to both of us, because I am exhausted by then. I am doing well also. I had a minor anxiety issue with thinking Austin was going to stop breathing at night so, after a few days of putting Austin in bed with me until John came to bed and the rest of the night having horrible dreams and waking up 100 times at night to go poke him and make him move, we went out and bought the Angle care monitor which monitors his movements and breathing. If he doesn't breathe after 20 seconds and alarm goes off to wake him up and warn us. We all sleep much better now.

Howdy, Partner!

2008-09-19T19:22:00.001-04:00

Update!

2008-09-04T21:44:00.005-04:00

Austin enjoying the sunset at Hubbard Lake

Austin got to stay in his jammies all day when he was sick

Oh where to begin... Austin has had a very busy month. On August 19th Austin got his first cold. I was very sad because he was having a lot of trouble breathing and there really was not much we could do for our little guy. We had to elevate his crib and rub him down with Vicks but other then that we had to let it run its course. Austin was a trooper though and rarely fussed. He was very clingy though and wanted to be held a lot but most of that was due to it being hard for him to breath when laying down. Austin is now healthy and happy.

Austin also visited the doctors and we were shocked to find out he was 10 lbs 5 oz. He is growing so fast. He now is having 1-2 oz of apple juice a day which he loves and for the most part is sleeping through the night averaging 6-8 hours at a time. We are very excited to this new talent and enjoy our happy little baby when he wakes up from 8 hours of sleep. Austin also got to take his first vacation. Dan and Katie invited us up to Hubbard Lake where we had an awesome time with them. Austin got to hang out with Nathan and even went swimming for the first time.

Austin is now 2 months old and he is doing so many things. He has great control over his head and is a very nosey little baby. He is now making lots of noise and "talking" quite a bit. He has discovered his thumb and much to my dismay, finds it very enjoyable during his nap. This is one fight I am afraid I have lot and just hope is a phase he is going through. Today was Austin's first day of "school". He is going to Little Turtle School two days a week. Austin seemed to really like it.

Austin in front of the school sign

Every student seems to get their picture on the turtle out front, so Austin had to on his first day

Austin's "Locker"

Detroit Lions Game

2008-08-24T13:30:00.003-04:00

On Saturday, Austin went to his first football game. We took him to Ford Field to see the Lions vs. the Browns. Austin had a great time and the Lions actually won!

Austin and I had "the talk" before the game. Not "that talk", but the "Don't get emotionally attached to the Lions talk." I warned him that the Lions will break your heart more than a girl ever could. I also explained that he will never see the Lions in the Super Bowl. With that being said, I think he's officially ready to become a Detroit Lions fan.

Concert

2008-08-22T23:08:00.004-04:00

Last night we went to a concert with our friends Dan and Katie. We saw Third Day, Switchfoot, Robert Randolph & the family band, and Jars of Clay at the DTE Energy Music Theatre. Shortly after we arrived our good seats turned into great seats - proving it's not how much you spend, but who you know! It was an amazing show!

Mac Powell of Third Day

Jon Foreman of Switchfoot

Robert Randolph

Moving on Up!

2008-08-15T12:02:00.002-04:00

Last night was a very big night for Austin. He moved out on his own... well, into his own room at least. I can't believe its been 6 weeks already. First its moving out of our room... next, it will be getting his license, moving out of the house and getting married. Our baby is growing so fast! It's hard to believe when we brought him home he was only 5 lbs 11 oz and now he is 9 lb 11 oz. He is growing like a weed and has already out grown most of his 0-3 month pants and pajamas because of his length. He measures around 22 inches. It's hard to get those wiggly little legs to stay still when measuring but he's definitely growing very fast.

Good news with his jaundice... after a second blood test and 2 days without nursing, the doctors did confirm that it was breast milk jaundice and that the second blood test showed his counts went down so he was cleared to go back to nursing. His liver and thyroid were checked and everything came back normal. Austin is very happy to not have formula all day long but much to his disappointment mommy found that a bottle at night helped him sleep so, we are still giving his some formula.

Detroit Tigers Game

2008-08-10T20:20:00.010-04:00

Christina and I took Austin to his first Tigers game this afternoon. We anticipated 80 degree weather, but ended up with low 70's. Despite the cold, wind and rain we had a great time! Right after we parked Austin got to meet his first homeless guy (a nice fella that washed our windshield). Austin didn't see too much of the game. He was too busy sleeping under a blanket, but we think he had fun.

___

We bought Austin a pair of sunglasses last night in preparation for our day in the sun. We were a little disappointed he didn't get to wear them at the game.

Austin and Daddy in rightfield, shortly after visiting with Aunt Anne

Austin and Mommy in our seats

Posing with Mommy and Daddy outside of Comerica Park

All the fresh air knocked Austin out on the way home

2008-08-06T21:33:00.007-04:00

Just when I thought we had it all under control, Austin throws us a curve ball. We were just starting to get the hang of this parenting thing: the late-night feedings, constant washing of baby clothes, and life scheduled around naps and feeding times.

This past Sunday, John had mentioned in church that Austin's skin looked a little yellow. I thought that it was probably the lights and didn't pay much attention to it. Yesterday, we went over to Dan and Katie's for dinner and when we got there I took Austin out of his car seat in the backyard. I immediately noticed that the whites of his eyes were very yellow in the natural light as well as his skin. Katie mentioned that she noticed it right away too. Of course, on the inside I was totally freaking out and was ready to run our little baby to the emergency room. Luckily Nate's doctor has a 24 hour hotline so, I called and the doctor said not to worry as long as he was acting fine and to bring him to the office in the morning. It did ease my mind a little bit but, even the littlest thought of anything being wrong with Austin broke my heart and sent me into a panic attack. I just didn't want the little guy to be sick or not feel good. It was a rough night. I barely slept and not because of feedings but because I just wanted it to be morning so we could call the pediatrician. Finally, morning did come but the doctor wasn't in until 1:30pm so I played a game of trying to keep busy to keep my mind off the clock. The good news is the doctor was not too concerned with his appearance. He is Jaundice and from what I understood in rare cases if a baby is jaundice when born, even slightly like Austin was, sometimes there is something in the mother's breast milk that doesn't allow the baby to break it up and get rid of it. So I was told not to breast feed for 2 days to see if he is able to get his levels down. If he does then they know that it was from the breast milk and we can resume breast feeding on Saturday. I think the next couple of days are going to be harder on me then on Austin. Aside from the fact that I hate to give Austin formula, it is our special time together when I am feeding him. I know that when he is feeding, he feels very safe and counts on me to provide him with that comfort. It broke my heart this afternoon when he looked at me with those big eyes and a pout on his face. Hopefully its only 2 days and we can go back to our normal feeding routine.

side note: the doctor weighed Austin and he's now 9lbs. 11oz.! He's gained 4 lbs. in 4 weeks....